After Christening our brand new UK passports, which gave us some cause for concern a couple of months ago (most of you know the story behind that, if you don’t and want to leave a message!) we emerged from terminal looking for bus stop #12 to get the hotel shuttle. Of course the UK chose today to be part of its heatwave (28C), and of course bus stop # 12 had to be the furthest away at around 1km! Anyway we made it there and the shuttle was only about 10 minutes in arriving AND it had aircon! We arrived at the hotel and got settled, and rested! After dinner we managed to watch TV for an hour or so before the eye lids decided to succumb to gravity.
Eleven hours later we came back to life, got ready and headed down to the dining room for breakfast. I have to say it was the best hotel buffet breakfast ever. Pretty much a Full English, eggs, sausage, bacon, beans, mushrooms, potato and no black pudding thankfully (not sure if that is part of a Full English or not!). Even the croissants were light and flaky. Struggled back to the room and got ready to depart on the shuttle. It was back to the airport to catch, obviously, a train. We were heading down to Southampton to a hotel for the night before boarding the cruise tomorrow. The train journey was a little chaotic, we had to change trains once and it was at this station where things went a little off track (sorry!!). Beyond this station there was a trackside fire that was affecting train services throughout the south of the UK because of its location on one of the main lines. Some trains from the station were being reroute or canceled, ours was continually delayed and the poor computer was having a hard time displaying the correct info on the TV screens. We finally boarded the train, which had become very crowded with rerouted passengers. Halfway into the journey the driver announced that they had originally planned to cancel this service, but had just confirmed with him that it would run all the way to Southampton. As he put it we will arrive in Southampton, I just don’t know when!!
Well he was right, we made it with no further drama. Unfortunately the lift at the station was dead, so it was up and down stairs with the suitcases. I offered to carry Lyn’s case for her, but Lyn being Lyn said no. Some kind girl saw her and carried the case, most impressed!
We took an Uber to the hotel, it seems Southampton are short of Ubers as it took about 30 minutes to book one. Of course the location of the hotel may have been part of the problem as it is located in a motorway service area. I booked the hotel here as one, it was free (points) and two Southampton hotels appear to partake in mass price gouging the night before a cruise departs. Rooms normally costing around £150 suddenly shot up to £400 or more. Any way we’re here now, all we have to do is get back to Southampton tomorrow morning! Again, no lift at the hotel, so again Lyn decided she would carry the case, and again a kind lady helped her. Turns out she is going on the same cruise as us.
Just to prove (to myself) I can still add pictures here are a couple taken around the hotel, looks like I compressed the first one too much.
Glad you made it. Hope things are better on the cruise!
So far no real problems!!