3. Embarkation day and first sea day.

We had selected an arrival time at the terminal of 12.15 and as the taxi from the hotel was prompt, we were right on schedule. Baggage was deposited and then it was across the road to the Covid testing centre. The following timeline may be of interest to some:

Arrived at terminal and deposited luggage 12.15

Joined queue for vaccination proof inspection and Covid test 12.20

Covid test 12.45

Walk back across road to departures hall and wait for test results 

Covid results by text at 13.15

Collect medallion, clear security and onboard by 13.30

All in all, it was a well organised process given the number of people and the extra checks required.

We’ve been on a number of Princess ships previously and without doubt, Sky Princess is very smart, shiny and new. But it’s layout feels somewhat different…maybe that’s a good thing, nothing wrong with mixing things up, rearranging, and keeping things fresh. But in the other hand, the older ships were like a home from home and one knew instantly where to go and where to find quiet, favourite haunts.

I’ll reserve judgement on my overall like or dislike of the ship for the time being as we’ve only been on board for about 24 hours and we still need to explore all the facilities on all the decks.

So we are heading south in the Bay of Biscay towards our first port of call, Cadiz where arrival is scheduled for early Monday morning. It’s cloudy but not unpleasant and the sea state is good. Following us on our southbound journey are a dozen or so gannets which ride effortlessly on the wave of air created by the ship. Perhaps they began their migration in Alderney….unfortunately they are a bit too far away to see if they are ringed!

A couple of additional notes. Firstly, I’m not sure how often I will be able to upload pictures to this blog as they seem to take an age given the limited internet facilities at sea. But I will persevere and see what happens.

Secondly, a minor disaster was discovered whilst unpacking. Claire’s bag must have been left out in the torrential rain at Jersey airport and water had seeped in. Many of her clothes were rather damp, but we’ve aired them overnight and hopefully there has been no damage done.