Elliejay

I'm back! Yesterday's date should have been Sunday 5th. I got my husband to proof read it and he didn't notice either. Never mind. Monday 6th May. We had another good nights sleep and were up and ready by 07.45. As we were making our way down to Saffron for Breakfast, we were directed to The Bay Tree Restaurant. Apparently Saffron was so busy, they had decided to open Bay Tree as well. It was a lovely start to the day. Before we came away, I had the bright idea of treating us to a nice relaxing couples massage. I thought it would be a lovely way to just chill out. How wrong was I? I think the Oasis Spa should be renamed The Torture Chamber!. I can honestly say, I don't think I have ever experienced anything like it in my life. Considering I've had 4 kids, giving birth to my little darlings was a walk in the park compared to what I was about to go through!!. First I was rubbed down from head to foot with what felt like sandpaper. I then had hot oil poured on me. To be honest, that felt quite nice. Then the real 'pain' started. I swear she had marbles glued to her hands. She started with my shoulders- kneading, kneading and more kneading. She said she had found a "knot' and was trying her hardest to get rid of it. Well it wasn't budging. The pattern continued throughout my body. I was laid face down gritting my teeth throughout the whole process 😫. It wasn't what I was expecting when I parted with my hard earned £188. Before it all started, I'd informed/warned her I have particularly sensitive feet. Well, I think she must have forgot , because she spent ages prodding and poking my poor feet. I spent the whole 75 mins willing my time to be over. When she started on my toes, that just about finished me off. These involuntary noises kept coming out of my mouth and I could hear my husband laughing at me. 😃 Finally my time was up and I could get dressed. I was that traumatised I couldn't even fasten my pumps and my husband had to do them for me. He, on the other hand loved the experience and said he wished we had booked for 100 minutes. He's a sadist!. As soon as I'd escaped, I went straight back to the cabin for a long, hot shower to recover. We then got ready and went for a mooch around the port for an hour. We've been here lots of times so 1 hour was enough. Back on board we went up to Breakers Bar for a much deserved Voddie and Coke or 2. I'll leave it there for now and catch up with the rest of the day later. Take Care Elliejay.

Hey everyone. Thanks for the positive wishes. We're having a great time. Here's an update. Sunday 6th May. Sea Day. We had a really good nights sleep. We managed about 8 hours which is really good for us. We're used to getting up early either for work or being woke up by our 18 year old cat! He rules the roost and when he wants to get up, we obey. Mr E decided we should go to the Waterside Buffet for breakfast. I should say now, this is my least favourite place on any ship at any time. Mr E likes it so he can fill his plate with whatever he wants. He fills his plate so high that its nearly falling off.... but he eats it all. Nothing is ever wasted with him. Once he's had breakfast, he won't eat again until teatime. Me, on the other hand, would much prefer small meals/snacks all day long. I'm a nibbler and will pick at food all day. Anyway, due to the previous cruises outbreak of Gastroenteritis, the buffet wasn't a free for all that Mr E likes, instead it was rightly so, being served by the staff. My OH came away from the serving area with a very small plate of food, telling me he didn't want to tell them to give him more bacon, another sausage etc cos he didn't want to look greedy. Just one look at his belly will tell you that he is haha. It was mad busy and took us ages to find a seat. Anyway, that did the trick. He said for the rest of our cruise we were going to Saffron for our brekky. Result. To us, sea days are a chance to relax and not do too much apart from eat, drink and maybe join in with a few quizzes and that's exactly what we did. After breakfast we had a mooch through the shops and then went to the 10.00 quiz in The Exchange. It was a Food and Drink quiz and we did appalling. After another couple of laps of the ship we went back to The Exchange for the Battle of The Exchange and for once, we were on the winning side. I really like this quiz. Its good fun and it gets people talking. Our fellow passengers are a mixture of all ages. There's quite a lot of children on board of all ages. From young babies and up to teenagers. The kids we have come across have all been very well behaved and well mannered. We've witnessed some really rude adults though, It costs nothing to be polite. A please and thank you it seems is beneath some people. Its a good job I don't work in hospitality that's all I'll say. Our Captain is James Brown. I've heard him giving out his announcements but I've not seen him yet. Mostly the staff seem to be happy in their work. Our Cabin Steward is a really lovely lady. She goes out of her way to talk to us. I won't publish her name yet. I'd rather ask her for permission first. Also one particular waiter in the Exchange is standing out to us. Again, I won't publish his name without consent but I'll be putting their names on the recognition forms. Tonight's meal was the 1st of 3 bookings in The Beach House. My husband is a creature of habit and always gets the same thing! He is very picky with food. No cheese, no pork, no lamb, no chicken on the bone, no ribs. The list goes on. That's why he fills his boots with breakfast. Well that's when he's removed the black pudding and egg yolks! I, on the other hand will eat absolutely anything. As long as its cooked properly. After The Beach House we had a few drinks in Tamarind and then called it a night. The sea air is knocking me out! More to come. Take care all. Elliejay

Ey up! As the title suggests, we're here on board Ventura. It's a 7 night cruise to France, Spain and Portugal. So, I'll start with a little introduction. We are a couple from Leeds. I'm Mrs Elliejay (mid fifties) and my OH is Mr Elliejay (mid forties). Our first P&O cruise was on Oceana 13 years ago where we got married on board. I did a blog on the old P&O site and that was the first and only live report I have done so please be gentle with me, I will be no competition for Selbourne, Tiger, Andy, Damien and all the other brilliant live reporters we have on here. 2 days before we were due to travel I received an email from P&O informing me that on the current cruise, they were having an outbreak or reports of gastroenteritis and that boarding was going to be delayed due to additional cleaning. They also said those travelling on coaches needn't do anything. The coach company would adjust their arrival time. Saturday 4th May Again, we had chosen to travel down to Southampton on the (Intercruises) coach. We made our way down to Leeds Bus Station and we were there in plenty of time. Our pick up time was 07.45. The coach arrived about 10 mins early and we were greeted by 2 lovely young ladies. I didn't catch their names, but they are a credit to intercruises. Our first stop was at a service station in Leicester for a 30 mins break. We were told 2 people were joining us. When we got back on the coach, we were told that the 2 people joining us had been mis-informed by their TA. They'd been told to meet 90 mins later. The lovely coach drivers told them not to worry and to get to the service station as soon as they could and we waited for them. One of them looked quite upset when they arrived. Not a great start for them but thankfully the coach waited and absolutely everyone on the coach sympathised with them. The rest of the journey was unremarkable. We arrived at the docks at approx 14.45 and the queue to get in the terminal was absolutely huge. As we were on the coach, we were put in a different queue and sort of fast tracked. Once in the terminal, the queue to check in was 5 lanes long, but it went down really quickly and we were on board in about 25 mins. We usually book a balcony cabin but this time we opted for a restricted outside cabin. The reason being this is a 'cheeky in-between cruise' and we thought the weather wouldn't be that good and we wouldn't use the balcony anyway, how wrong were we, the weather is lovely and looks to be getting even better! This is the view from our window. Its really not that obstructed. I'm really happy with the location and would book it again. We didn't have anything booked for tonight so just went to the Saffron restaurant. To start we both had Dutch style Chicken Croquettes and then I had Lamb and Mr E had the steak for main. We decided after getting on board to buy the drinks package. Mr E rarely drinks alcohol but I drink enough for both of us so it was a no brainer😂. After a few drinks in The Exchange it was time for bed. Totally shattered having been up since 05.00. I'll leave it there and will catch up with Sunday 5th's update soon. Hope I've not bored you all silly. Si' thi Elliejay xx

Another here had a flutter on Dutch Decoy. I backed each way so thank you Megabear2. Currently sat in The Exchange on the lovely Ventura. I thought it was called Brodies but my OH corrected me. I'm not bothered what it's called. I'm just happy to be on board.

Snow Hill, have a look at The National Railway Museum. It's really interesting and best of all, it's free! #yorkshire. I also recommend the McArthur Glen outlet. As Grapau says, there's lots of shops and the parking is free and there's plenty of parking spaces. If you've time, a trip to Harrogate is highly recommended. It's a really nice town. Fountains Abbey is about 1 hours drive from York and is again well worth a visit. Its not cheap though. Its £19 for an adult. The Royal Armouries in Leeds is about 40 mins from York Centre. It's brilliant and best of all again, it's free!!. Have a great time wherever you decide to go. Janine

Thank you for the replies. I rang Intercruises just incase it was a printing error and they confirmed that the pick up is 09.45. They said P & O have asked the coaches to arrive later for Arvia and Iona sailings. They also said the reason for it only taking 5 hours to get to Southampton is because there will be less comfort breaks. Take care everyone and have a great week.

Can anyone who has travelled from Leeds recently, please let me know what time the pick up was? I received an email from intercruises on Friday telling me the pick up time is 09.45 and getting into Southampton at approx 14.45. 09.45 seems really late to me. I travelled with them last Oct and the pick up was 07.45. Also, it says the journey to Southampton is 5 hours but coming home it's 6 hours. Thanks in advance.