British Isle Cruise--Day 12

August 6, 2015—Day 12, Belfast, North Ireland

Our intent was to spend the day relaxing and doing laundry while most people were off the ship since we had no excursions planned; unfortunately, we weren’t able to do either.  The ship continues to have an issue with gastroenteritis (noro), and we were told the ship would undergo another sanitation while we were in port in Belfast. 

We were told we needed to vacate our cabins early in the morning and most likely would not be able to get back in them until late in the afternoon, so instead of sleeping in, I had set my alarm.  We were also instructed to take everything off all the surfaces in the cabin and put all our belongings away.  This meant that after taking a shower, I had to pack up all the toiletries and also put away everything else.  Since we wouldn’t be able to get back into the cabin, I packed up a few things into a bag that I might want during the day, like a wrap that could double as a coat or even a blanket if we wanted to sit outside (it was still very cold and likely to get colder as we went further north), my laptop (so I could go ahead and write up yesterday’s activities), and my kindle.  Of course, I had to lug all of this around the rest of the day.

After breakfast, my parents found a place in the hallway of Deck 7 to sit, and I headed to Club 6 for trivia as something to do to pass the time.  The questions were not just difficult, but almost incomprehensible as the member of the cruise director’s staff conducting trivia spoke with such an accent that none of us could understand the question.  There were only about 11 people there and we had to help each other try to figure out the question before we could try to answer it.  “If cats are no-ed as feelens, what are ships?”  Huh??  We finally figured our that the question was “If cats are known as felines, then what are sheep?” and we only figured it out when he started saying ships, ships—baaaa, baaaa, oh, sheep!  Yes, ships!  

Afterward, I headed to plaza deck thinking I could get a coffee and start typing my journal from the day before.  Not only were our cabins being sanitized, but also the public areas of the ship, so shortly after getting there, a team of around 30-40 crewmembers armed with buckets, wipes, and a couple wearing tanks on their backs with a spray nozzle attached (looked a lot like the kind my pest control person uses) started sanitizing that area liberally wiping every surface down and spraying everywhere (including the walls).  A few of the other folks there moved out of the center of the piazza over to the side area, but I decided to move to another area of the ship and headed back to Club 6 where the trivia had been held.  I was there just a short while, when another team entered that area, so off I went to where my parents were on Deck 7.  A little while later, we could see still another team of crewmembers working their way forward from the stern of the ship, wiping and spraying everything in sight.  So back to the piazza we went.  This time the side areas on piazza deck were taped off so no one could enter them, but we did find a table near the International Café in the center.  We continued to move from area to area as the sanitation teams worked their way around the ship.  Unfortunately, everywhere they went, the chairs and tables, and even the couches and other seats that were cloth-covered, were soaking wet.  Pretty soon, the only place left was outside, and it was cold. 

We spent all morning and half the afternoon just trying to find someplace to sit.  Usually we are told to avoid using the public restrooms when possible and that it is better to use your own in your cabin, but today we couldn’t go back to our cabins, so we had to use the public restrooms and I found some of those were blocked with yellow tape since those had to be sanitized as well.  Areas of the ship such as the Vista Lounge, Wheelhouse Lounge, Princess Theater, Club 6, Alfredos were all taped off or closed as well.

A lot of the passengers were off the ship on various excursions so it does make sense to try to do the sanitation while in port, but a few (including us) hadn’t planned to get off the ship.  Since the ship was berthed in an industrial area of the city, there was nothing close by that we could just pop out to visit or see.  If you wanted to go anywhere, you had to take a bus or taxi somewhere.  Since we hadn’t already planned anything previously, we were pretty much stuck along with a few others, and spent the time waiting to get back in our cabins and moving from area to area.  After the initial morning trivia, I found all other activities were pretty much cancelled, so it was a good thing I had my Kindle with me.

We were finally able to get back into our cabins mid-afternoon.  Since we hadn’t had lunch, we ended up going to the Lido Deck to the grill and had hamburgers and French fries.  The sun was out and the wind had died down, so even though it wasn’t warm, it wasn’t too cold either, so we actually ate outside on the deck sitting in the sun.  Later, we went to the buffet for dessert.

After the stressful day, I was back in my cabin at a little after 7:00pm, changed into my comfy PJs and watched a movie (Woman in Gold, which was really good), and was asleep early as soon as the movie ended.

While I understand the need to take precautions and to sanitize the ship, it does make it less than enjoyable or relaxing.  Of course, getting upset about it all doesn’t help anything, so I tried to make the best of it, and instead of trying to find things wrong, I’ll try to find things that I do enjoy and appreciate.  One disappointing day doesn’t change the fact that we’ve had some very enjoyable days in London, in Leominster, and in Wales, and I’m glad that I’m able to spend time with my parents, and we're all looking forward to the excursions we have planned in Scotland.