Capnpugwash is off to the Mediterranean

[Frenchlu]

Our weather is about to change apparently - won't be seeing as much of the Rock as we do at present - showery forecast!!:eek::eek:

 

It doesn't look good for us poor souls getting on after the Captain gets off !!

[Frenchlu]

Our weather is about to change apparently - won't be seeing as much of the Rock as we do at present - showery forecast!!:eek::eek:

 

It doesn't look good for us poor souls getting on after the Captain gets off !! Sorry, duplicated. Not too good at posting.

[ollienbertsmum]

Our weather is about to change apparently - won't be seeing as much of the Rock as we do at present - showery forecast!!:eek::eek:

 

It doesn't look good for us poor souls getting on after the Captain gets off !! Sorry, duplicated. Not too good at posting.

 

 

No don't worry about it, the weather changes over the period of a few days. When the indie was leaving Southampton we had some real rubbish Welly Boot weather - and voila it cleared up.

 

Gibraltar actually has cooler weather than further up the coast because we are exposed to sea breezes. Great for the summer but maybe in the spring we might prefer the wind to be turned off. That is what happened in the last few days.

 

Don't start looking at the weather patterns until you are actually aboard - but make sure you pack for all weathers with layers that you can pile on or strip off as the need arises.

 

Happy sailing

[capnpugwash]

Update No 36

 

The nap won and it is now just after 5pm and we are backing out from our berth and swinging through 180 degrees and heading into the sunset, west towards Cape St Vincent, on the first leg of our journey to Southampton. The sea is like a sheet of black glass, barely a ripple and the sun hangs low on the horizon, it is due to set in a little over one hour.

I was a little late for dinner this evening as I was chatting up in Olive or Twist on deck 14 and didn’t notice the time, the meal was excellent, leek and fennel soup followed by a very nice lasagne, dessert was a steamed syrup pudding with the thinnest custard that I have ever encountered, but overall the meal was good. We are currently steaming northwest, rounding Cape St Vincent on the southwest corner of Portugal and are about to start the northerly slog up the west coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The sea is a little rough tonight but nothing to be too concerned with. Looking at the chart, there is a storm over Ireland which may drop down to us but otherwise it looks pretty good. I may be proven wrong; the Captain has said that he was leaving early to avoid big problems at sea and the result is that the majority of passengers are terrified of what they will encounter. If the weather is bad, it is bad, but it is no better if you are sitting there anticipating it being bad. It seems a very odd thing to say to people, especially 3 days in advance of the expected storm.

 

I got into the lift up to my cabin at 12.15am tonight and the carpet still said Wednesday, which confused me a bit. It is Thursday and I suppose the carpet man was busy elsewhere.

 

The sea this morning has changed and we are pitching fore and aft a little, but this is accompanied by a sneaky lateral rolling. In short, we are corkscrewing somewhat as we head NNW up the Portuguese coast, we have made good progress overnight and are approaching the mouth of the River Tagus and Lisbon. We are currently steaming at 19 knots assisted by a force 4 tailwind, and if we continue, we should enter the Bay of Biscay by the time dinner is being served this evening or perhaps a little later.

 

More later.

[Ray66]

Given at 6.00am today

 

[Mattsmum]

If the weather is bad, it is bad, but it is no better if you are sitting there anticipating it being bad. It seems a very odd thing to say to people, especially 3 days in advance of the expected storm.

 

I agree - I'd rather not know - on our last trip I spent a day fretting and then it wasn't as bad as I had dreaded. It was on our way back to NY so perhaps I had got my "Sea legs" by then :-)

[capnpugwash]

Update No 37

 

The sky this morning is the lightest blue imaginable and there are very light clouds dotted around it. It is quite pleasant outside and I think that the sky will clear later. In the daylight I can see that we are encountering long swells of about 8 feet striking the ship at 45 degrees on the port quarter. They are roughly 30 to 40 feet apart. This is causing the lateral roll but the pitching motion has stopped for the moment.

 

After my usual breakfast I came back to the cabin for a while, a lot of people are hiding away somewhere, in their cabins I think, I assume because of the slight motion of the ship. The bags are out in every stairwell as a precaution. I went up to the gym and did my cycling and then went to the rowing machine. There is only one and it is positioned across the ship rather than fore and aft. I was rowing for a while and then I thought that I was having a heart attack, it became so difficult to row, a moment later I was flying forwards at pace, then I worked out that the roll of the deck meant that I was rowing uphill or downhill, very disconcerting I tell you.

 

We are on day 16 of this trip and in less than 72 hours it will all be over.

 

Our northerly trek continues, our tailwind is now a force 6 and we are sailing at 19 knots. The sunshine is still quite warm although it is nearly 5pm and the sea has calmed down and the swell disappeared. Our position is approximately level with the northern border of Portugal, approaching Vigo. The weather chart is clear for the Bay of Biscay with some storms showing up in the English Channel by Torbay.

 

More later.

[The Real PM]

Update No 37

 

The sky this morning is the lightest blue imaginable and there are very light clouds dotted around it. It is quite pleasant outside and I think that the sky will clear later. In the daylight I can see that we are encountering long swells of about 8 feet striking the ship at 45 degrees on the port quarter. They are roughly 30 to 40 feet apart. This is causing the lateral roll but the pitching motion has stopped for the moment.

 

After my usual breakfast I came back to the cabin for a while, a lot of people are hiding away somewhere, in their cabins I think, I assume because of the slight motion of the ship. The bags are out in every stairwell as a precaution. I went up to the gym and did my cycling and then went to the rowing machine. There is only one and it is positioned across the ship rather than fore and aft. I was rowing for a while and then I thought that I was having a heart attack, it became so difficult to row, a moment later I was flying forwards at pace, then I worked out that the roll of the deck meant that I was rowing uphill or downhill, very disconcerting I tell you.

 

We are on day 16 of this trip and in less than 72 hours it will all be over.

 

Our northerly trek continues, our tailwind is now a force 6 and we are sailing at 19 knots. The sunshine is still quite warm although it is nearly 5pm and the sea has calmed down and the swell disappeared. Our position is approximately level with the northern border of Portugal, approaching Vigo. The weather chart is clear for the Bay of Biscay with some storms showing up in the English Channel by Torbay.

 

More later.

How are you feeling now? Are you feeling sad or will you be happy to return home? Or a little of both?

[capnpugwash]

How are you feeling now? Are you feeling sad or will you be happy to return home? Or a little of both?

 

Really mixed, as always.

[capnpugwash]

Update No 38

 

It is 12.15 am or 11.15pm as the clocks go back tonight to put us on UK time, there is a big storm away to the west of us as we head NNE across the BoB, we are only just into it but to me it looks quite favourable, a little swell but really nothing to write home about. We do have force 8 tailwinds blowing us along northwards.

 

Dinner was fun tonight with a lovely fishy menu, again we were last to leave and a few of us went to the Champagne Bar which is excellent. I left after a couple and headed for the forward lifts, to my cabin. The music fro the Pyramid Lounge sounded great so I went in and a group called Rock the Boat were playing. They are a Canadian based group but the lead singer is from Leicester. They are wonderful, old music well played. I was sat at the bar and the two ladies next to me told me that they had just come from Quest and one of them had been the winning ladies captain. I must set the record straight as they described the game to me as being great fun. Perhaps it is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it was great fun nonetheless.

 

I asked what the game entailed and she said the following, she was selected as one of 8 lady captains and there were 8 men captains. The selection was based upon where you sat in the venue. Their quests were; to produce a lady with a tattoo, then a man with lipstick on, a lady with a piercing that was not an ear, a man in ladies shoes, an I phone, a man in ladies clothing and several similar things. She had won and her prize was a bottle of Corbel Californian fizz. But she said that it was great fun and in fairness, it does sound like it was, so I apologise for the disparaging comments that I made earlier.

 

I hope that the swell will rock me to sleep tonight.

 

More later.

[Maryandi]

Continuing Thanks, for such an entertaining log of your pleasant cruise. I think that the ship is a great one. We'll have to give it a try.

 

All the best, See you in June, MaryAnn

 

I might even try kippers then. You are making them sound tasty.

[capnpugwash]

Update No 39

 

I woke a little before 5am this morning as it was so quiet on board. There was no noise from outside whatsoever and no movement of the ship; it was as though we had arrived somewhere overnight and moored. We hadn’t of course, it was just that the sea is so remarkably calm, yet we have a force 7 tailwind blowing us along. It is quite strange but it does clearly demonstrate the unpredictable nature of the sea in general, and the Bay of Biscay in particular. We are now half way across the Bay and so far, so good. The storm that the Captain forecasted has, thus far, failed to materialise.

 

Today is day 17 of our journey and tonight is the last of only three formal nights on board. In the last hour the sea has become more active and we now have a slight lateral roll developing, it is nothing much but it is certainly there.

 

More later.

[BMT]

Update No 39

 

I woke a little before 5am this morning as it was so quiet on board. There was no noise from outside whatsoever and no movement of the ship; it was as though we had arrived somewhere overnight and moored. We hadn’t of course, it was just that the sea is so remarkably calm, yet we have a force 7 tailwind blowing us along. It is quite strange but it does clearly demonstrate the unpredictable nature of the sea in general, and the Bay of Biscay in particular. We are now half way across the Bay and so far, so good. The storm that the Captain forecasted has, thus far, failed to materialise.

 

Today is day 17 of our journey and tonight is the last of only three formal nights on board. In the last hour the sea has become more active and we now have a slight lateral roll developing, it is nothing much but it is certainly there.More later.

 

 

So pleased all is going well across the Bay - may the good weather continue all the way to Southampton for you all.:)

 

Thanks for putting everyone straight on Quest...as you so rightly say, its not everyone's cup of tea..... but can be fun to watch - that's why we always go. Much depends on the individual Cruise Directors though.... they all handle it differently. We thought Josh handled it quite tastefully really - more Gameshow than 'adult'.

 

We rarely go to the Pyramid Lounge and when we do, we always comment on how great the Band is and how we must go more often....and then we forget about it. Its a nice venue and we always enjoy the parties there. The bar guys always seem so friendly there.

 

Hopefully, you will have enjoyed your cruise on Indie - a totally different experience to Cunard probably - we are sampling the new QE in September!! I think your experience was definitely enhanced by being on a companionable table for dinner - always helps.

 

Looking forward to your summing up;)

[Pemcorgimum]

I can remember reading somewhere that ''Quests'' have been toned down a lot as they were getting out of hand on some ships. We've always enjoyed going to see them. On Oasis last year we were pleased to see new items being asked for as in previous cruises on other ships, people had been arriving pre-prepared with bras and whatever.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

The BOB can be rough on good days, we were crossing it in Sept and had a few bruises to show for it.:)

 

Great review, have enjoyed following it.

[capnpugwash]

Update No 40

 

The sky was totally covered with clouds as the sun rose today and now, 90 minutes later it is burning off in wide bands, leaving a clear blue sky in its’ place. It is quite cool, certainly cooler than what we have become accustomed to of late, but it is probably 55/14 degrees and due to warm up by a further 4 degrees later on. There is only a very slight swell now, no rolling waves but rather a broken sea without any apparent patterns to it.

 

We seem to be in a fairly busy sea lane as we approach the northwest corner of Brittany; we are about level with Nantes and are 90% through the Bay. There are 6 or so tankers and VLCCs visible, some heading towards the UK and a few heading away. In the distance is a massive ship, with the decks stacked 8 deep with containers. I often wonder what they may contain, but I don’t know that even the Captain of that ship is totally aware of that information. We have slowed by nearly three knots and are now only doing 17 knots. I believe that we now have plenty of time in hand as we have 43 hours to get up the English Channel, which normally takes less than 24.

 

We must be approaching the UK because the sun has disappeared behind great swathes of dull grey cloud. As has been my custom, after my gym and steam I was cooling off on a swing seat outside on deck 11, it is very relaxing and comfortable out there and there are certainly sights to be seen. Camouflage man reappeared wearing what looked like the same trousers; they didn’t look any better today I assure you. Then there was the quite elderly man in red football shorts, which were very brief and slit up both sides. He was wearing a white tee shirt which had no sleeves whatsoever; the shirt would more normally be seen being worn by a young man on the beach playing volley ball or something similar. Then there was the middle aged man, dressed in black shorts and black tee shirt, absolutely wringing wet from the hot tub. He walked into the doorway and headed down the stairs, presumably to his cabin; he had no towel or shoes at all and was just dripping water everywhere. It was just a normal day on the Independence of the Seas.

 

I was a little peckish at lunchtime so I went to the pizzeria looking for the little spicy Mexican calzones, naturally they didn’t have any and the regular pizzas are not crispy enough for my tastes. Being Friday I next thought of fish and chips so I headed to the restaurant where they weren’t serving it. Instead I had a nice pea soup followed by spicy lamb pita bread with a small salad, very nice it was too. We are going to be out of the Bay in about two hours even though we are now only steaming at 14 knots. I think we can call it killing time.

 

More later.

[ollienbertsmum]

Oh no :eek: we are getting out the suitcases, I will really miss my daily cruise fix. Thank you so much Capn. Can we join you on your next cruise?

[Miss Independence]

We will get our suitcases out tomorrow morning.

Mike will put out want he wants to take and I will decide what he actually takes.

I will go through my wardrobes taking out everything possibly suitable and then start putting back -

 

[*]what looks scruffy

[*]what doesn't fit anymore

[*]what doesn't go with anything else

[*]what is unflattering.

This will leave possibly two or three items I consider wearable so ................

Back to trawling through the wardrobes.

After following this procedure a few time I eventually will end up with a case ( or two) of clothes which just might be suitable.

Then I turn my attention to shoes, jewellery, scarves, swimsuits, sun hats, coverups etc. That takes care of another couple of hours.

Then it is the medicines, suntan lotions, sprays and insect repellents. Then it is the wash bags, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, nail scissors, emery boards, make-up, day creams,night creams etc etc ..........

 

By this time I will have lost the will to live and will throw anything and everything into the bags - " just in case". Thank God there is no limit.

 

Finally, it will be the paper work and the money and my trusty laptop and I will breath a big sigh of relief. I will open a bottle of red, which Mike says will be my last for 18 days, sit back in my chair and wonder,as always, will it be worth it??

Of course ................... it will.

See you all Sunday.

PS Sorry guys this is on the wrong board but I cannot delete it . Should be on the IOS board.

I will take this opportunity of Thanking Captn Pugwash for his entertaining and informative reports. Can't wait to get on board myself.

[upwarduk]

Miss Independence

 

I assume you are going on the next 'Ultimate' on Sunday 13th February.

I start all that you have described at least a week before hand, in case I don't have time to complete the packing & leave something essential.

[capnpugwash]

Update No 41

 

It is just gone 6pm and the sun has gone for the day, we have made the slight starboard turn to enter the English Channel, the sea is as calm as anything and we have a force 4 wind off the port quarter. We are about due south of The Lizard in Cornwall so I believe that we have no more than 400 miles to run yet we are not due to dock for about 35 hours. Our current speed is 15 knots so I believe that we will arrive quite early ahead of our due time.

 

Our last formal night was very nice; there was not the parade of chefs that we expected but rather a parade of our waiters and assistant waiters. They then sang to us except it was so obviously a CD that they mimed to that it was odious. They do a great job without the need for this charade. After dinner was the Rock Britannia dance party on the Promenade, the music was very good but it was very crowded as you would expect. Five of us from our table went to the Champagne Bar and had a few martinis. We headed to bed at just after 2am and there were still people eating on deck 5. What on earth is the matter with these people?

 

More later

[Salacia]

Update No 41

 

We headed to bed at just after 2am and there were still people eating on deck 5. What on earth is the matter with these people?

 

More later

 

Ciao Capn. Thanks for your posts; I've been enjoying reading about your voyage.

 

As for the mini quote above, I'm guessing that was a spot of British humour - asking what is wrong with these people who stay up until 2 am drinking and/or eating on the last nights of a holiday at sea :) Tomorrow is another day, and may all be well. Cheers & thanks again - S.

[L & S]

Thanks very much for your entertaining and informative diary. We have booked to sail on this ship next year, and we are really novices at cruising, so any information is valuable to us. This will only be our third cruise and we were very interested to hear what you thought about the Independence.

 

It would seem that all in all you enjoyed your trip, and we look forward to following any other diaries which you provide us with. :)

[upwarduk]

That tail wind must really have blown you along at the rate of knots.

[capnpugwash]

Update No 42, final.

 

It is now 7am on the last full day of this cruise, we are heading east in the English Channel and currently are just beneath Bournemouth, there is perhaps 40 miles between here and Southampton, yet we are not due in until 22 hours time. The sea is very flat with occasional bumps but that may be exacerbated by our very slow 9 knots, there is a force 5 tailwind blowing us along. The sun is due to rise in 30 minutes. I have just had breakfast and returned to my cabin, the tipping envelopes have arrived and as I have prepaid my tips, I have 4 tear off slips addressed to the Head Waiter, Waiter, Assistant Waiter and stateroom attendant. I tore them off and inserted each in the correct envelope to hand out this evening, it seems strange to do this as with Cunard the tips are just taken from your account and nothing is handed over. It is almost like me having to prove to the waiters that I have prepaid the tips and am not just ignoring the issue.

 

The sun is shining brightly now and the water is almost flat calm, we are now heading southwest away from Southampton so we will just sail up and down the Channel all day long. It is quite surreal to me but I guess if we are too early into port, money has to change hands.

 

As we are almost home I will bid you all farewell. I hope that you have enjoyed my musings and I do wish to thank you all for your support and kind comments.

 

Fin.

[Dorchester]

Many thanks to you Cap'n for taking the time and making the effort to publish your journal for us. It has been totally enjoyable, mainly due to the style, accuracy and wit with which it was written.

 

Have a safe journey home from Southampton, and again, many thanks.

 

Regards,

David