In anticipation?

With just 25 days to go before Mrs PBT’s and I depart on what, for us, will be the longest holiday we’ve ever taken, and the most time we’ve spent away from home, excitement is beginning to mount – palpably. Unlike my good lady wife, who’s been amassing whole collections of garments to parade herself around in, I haven’t given much thought at all, as to what to wear. 

I don’t think it’s sexist to say that things are a whole lot easier for us fellas, but several casual shirts, a few T-shirts, two or three pair and trousers – pants, for any Americans out there, a fleece, to guard against chilly evenings at sea, or ashore, should the weather turn, plus a raincoat, will suffice, as far as I am concerned. I will probably also take my suit, plus the odd smart shirt, in case we decide to dress up posh – dinner at the captain’s table and all that.

A pair of bino’s is always good, when coming into port, or leaving for that matter, plus a couple of books to lose myself in, although to avoid being described as “anti-social”, I don’t want to overdo the reading matter. There is also the matter of a laptop, so for days at sea, I can get a few blog posts typed up. On the last two cruises, I brought my late mother’s ancient Toshiba laptop along, but it takes ages to boot up, is annoyingly slow, and is portable, in name only – in other words, it weighs a ton!

It's treat time then, and buy myself a new one, but with the age-old problem of far too much choice, I’m struggling to find one suitable, not just whilst onboard ship, but one that will be useful in other situations. We’ve got a couple of nice, lightweight, Hewlett Packard machines at work, small and compact with a 13.5” screen, and easy to carry too, but most of the laptops the geeky “tech-guys” at Curry’s are trying to sell me, have larger screens, plus processing speeds designed for spotty gaming nerds, as opposed to slowly aging beer and travel enthusiasts, rapidly approaching the end of their seventh decade on planet earth.

Powerful, hi-spec machines command high-end prices, which is not what I want, but with only three weekend left, before departure, time is running out for making that all important purchasing decision. It’s also Mrs PBT’s birthday next week, but apart from a small token on the actual day, I might leave the buying of her main present, until we are safely onboard the cruise ship.

Going back to the packing, for a moment, whilst I still prefer to travel light, with no limit on the amount of luggage that can be taken on board (within reason), the temptation to pack too much remains. My good lady wife may well take advantage of this allowance.  If you’ve ever seen the episode of “Keeping up Appearances” where the Buckets, "it’s Bouquet, actually", embark on a cruise with several trolley loads of suitcases, plus the odd hat box or three, you will know what I mean. Poor Richard was left struggling to manoeuvre the trolleys, whilst domineering Hyacinth implored him to get a move on. It won’t be like that, even though it remains as a dark thought at the back of my mind!

The cruise has been long in the planning, having been booked as far back as February, but with the option of paying in installments, without incurring any interest charges, this pay as you go option, has worked to our advantage, and meant there was no dipping into savings. Being away from work for three working weeks, meant a request for special dispensation from the company, but with plenty of notice, and a written letter of permission, everything is set as far as my employer is concerned.

Both Eileen and I have been counting the calories, in what so far has been a successful bid to shed a few pounds. I appreciate that food onboard ship is almost limitless in its supply, but on last summer’s Norwegian cruise, neither of us gained any weight. Portion control, combined with healthy eating and plenty of onboard exercise – circuits around the promenade deck and using the stairs rather than the lifts, all help and then there’s all that fresh sea air.

As with previous cruises, we shall embark at Southampton, and this means driving down the day before and an overnight stay, close to the port. We’ve booked a package whereby we can leave the car at the hotel, for the duration of the cruise, with pre-paid transfers by taxi, to and from the cruise terminal, included. A number of well-known “chain hotels” offer these packages, and we’ll be staying at a different one this time.

The Holiday Inn, on the edge of Winchester, has proved the best so far, with the Double Tree by Hilton, on the edge of Southampton less so. None of this really matters, because all these hotels are much of a muchness, and we’re only spending one night there anyway. The only slight concern I have is will the car start, after 19 days standing idle?

As previously, Matthew will be in charge of the house, whilst we’re away, and jokes about wild parties aside, having the place to himself for a long period of time, will be a good break for him, along with the chance of clearing out accumulated “junk” from his room, and keeping the house in good order, ready for our return. That’s it for the time being, and now it’s just a question of keeping our heads down and waiting for the end of the month.