TenneSea

Enjoy the beach ! Victoria's private beach hut. She would change in here, then the hut was rolled into the water on a rail system. It's good to be Queen.

Prince Albert was an avid horticulturist. He planted trees from all over the world, many on this walk to the beach. Almost there.

Continuing on the 3/4 walk to the beach from Osborne House. Statue of one of their dogs in the back garden. Beautiful planters Beautiful alcove (one of several) where Victoria liked to sit in the shade. Lily Pads in a little pond. Lucky bird. Gets to hang out at Osborne House.

Did I forget the food pics from Duke of Wellington?

Meant to give a few impressions. Impressions of Southampton: Absolutely enjoyed this city filled with history. Later I'll talk about the Mayflower memorial (I'm a Mayflower descendant) so that was exciting for me. It's beautiful and easy to get around in. Impressions of Red Funnel Ferries: Nothing fancy but efficient and clean. The food even look pretty good. It gets you where you want to go in comfort. Impressions of Duke of Wellington Pub: If you're in town - Do It ! Impressions of Osborne House: Do it ! It's so beautiful. Impression of Isle of Wight: I wish I could have spent a week there !

I sat right behind the retreat suite - they did look a little roomier. I think the bed area is just too narrow. For some reason, it felt like the bed was tilting. One thing they ask you to do is wear your seatbelt when in bed. HA ! That might have been why I couldn't sleep. They keep lights on (although dimmed) during the night, so that didn't help. Plus the noise. I think it was still worth the extra for Upper Class, I will just have lower expectations next time. The seat area really is narrow. And the aisles were only about 12' wide.

On the ferry over to the IOW, I enjoyed watching all the Mums (and some Dads) taking their children over for a day out. So cute.

@MWcruiser: British Isles would amazing. Someday ! I want to come back.

Next up will be the walk to the beach and the beach. Later !

Nice little crystal floor lamp ! Leg of a billard table. Very dark nursery. More of the official dining room.

Some the ceilings were as interesting as the furniture and wall hangings ! Sorry for the blur, this room was really dark.

Stunning dining room Ceiling in the dining room. This room was used to entertaining official guests, not for regular family dining.

Before we get to the beach have a look inside Osborne. I knew we could take photos inside but no flash. So I brought a monopod to help stabilize my camera for the darker interior shots. But, not allowed. So I had to try to hold the camera very still and maybe use some photo editing software to lighten. The laptop I have does not have any editing software so forgive me if some shots are a little dark or are not perfectly clear. The interior of this house is filled with statues, mostly white alabaster (?), and mostly children. It seems that their dear pets were memorialized with a statue somewhere in the home or outside in the garden. These door knobs and plates were on every door I saw. They show a VA on the plate (Victoria & Albert)

(2) ISLE OF WIGHT We boarded the Red Funnel ferry as foot passengers and an hour later, we stepped foot on the Isle of Wight. This is one little spot in the world I had always dreamed of visiting, even as a child. And here I was - it felt like home. We grabbed a taxi and he took us to the Osborne House which is around 2 miles from where the ferry docked. Osborne House is the house that Prince Albert built for Queen Victoria and their 8 children as a summer get-away from London. The landscaping at Osborne is stunning. I loved this pretty tree. Looking out towards the water and the beach.

Posting some other images from our 1st day in Southampton. Impression of Holiday Inn on Herbert Walker: very comfortable and conveniently located. We had the breakfast (buffet) one morning and it was quite good. Beds were great and boy, did we sleep tonight !

On our way to Duke of Wellington, we peeked into Pig on the Wall. I just loved the interior !

Finally, SOUTHAMPTON. We stayed at Holiday Inn. It was so much fun to walk around this port area. We walked that evening to The Duke of Wellington Pub and I experienced my very 1st real, English fish and chips. LOVED IT ! Such a pretty area. Duke of Wellington ahead. Had to sample them 1st !

After we refreshed in the arrivals lounge, we took a National Express (bus route NX203) and headed to Southampton on Thursday Aug 10, 2023. Then we waited from 9:30 am to catch our bus at 12:30. I did ask the young men behind the counter if we could catch an earlier coach and their only answer seemed to be, "call National Express". I tried but just couldn't make my phone do what it was supposed to do. So after much frustration, we just decided to wait. We watched 3 of "our buses" come and go and at 12:20, "our" bus still had not arrived. Again, to the desk, where I was assured, everything was on time and I only had to wait for the announcement which never came. Let me just say, I have no idea why those employees sit behind the counter. They know nothing and they do nothing. We finally flagged down a yellow vest woman and she tried to see if the next bus had room but no, all of the afternoon busses were full. She then tried to find out what happened to the 12:30 bus. Come to find out, he was early but since the coach was pretty much full, he just took off. To think we sat inside, in the lounge while this was happening is maddening ! She apparently chewed him out and made him come back from Terminal 5 to pick us up (plus a few other people who were in the same boat as us). He wasn't happy, but we were ! Impression of National Express coach and experience: Well, not impressed, obviously. The coaches were clean but HOT and cramped. If you have the $$, I would recommend a private transfer, which I regretted not doing.

Let me know if you have any questions about the trip from US to UK. Also, while onboard Sky Princess, I'll be happy to answer any questions you have, if I can. This is our 2nd cruise on Sky - she's such a beautiful ship.!

The journey I am about to document is one my husband and I had planned before the pandemic brought a halt to cruising. It is a journey to our “heritage” countries: mine being England, his being Norway. My husband did not know his ancestors’ locations in Norway, but he wanted to go, mainly to experience the country; to get a feel for where his roots were. So we planned a cruise on Sky Princess. The itinerary is: Board Aug. 12, 2023 - Southampton Aug. 13, 2023 - Sea Day Aug 14, 2023 - Haugesund, Norway Aug 15, 2023 - Skjolden, Norway Aug 16, 2023 - Olden, Norway Aug. 17, 2023 - Bergen, Norway Aug. 18, 2023 - Sea Day Aug. 19, 2023 - Disembark Sky Princess I, on the other hand, have volumes of information on my mother’s English ancestry. The family name I know most about is Wightman. After the cruise, we are renting a car and traveling around England for 4 days and will visit a few sites of particular historical interest to me - relating to family history. After our road trip through a lot of English countryside, we will end our trip with 4 days in London. Although I have many (heavy) Nikon cameras and many (heavy) lenses for those cameras, I decided to leave them at home for this epic trip. I researched some fixed lens cameras more suited to travel and purchased a Sony RX10 iv. I will document the entire journey with this camera and some occasional assists from my cell phone camera. (1). AUG 9 - 10 TRAVEL: Upper Class seats on Virgin Atlantic from Atlanta, GA to London Heathrow, but not before we endured a 1 hour flight from Knoxville to Atlanta. Upper class gave us First Class on Delta for the 1 hour flight, which was a nice perk. Impressions of Virgin Upper Class: Excellent service from everyone at Virgin. Such well trained representatives of the brand. However, the plane, although it was their newest aircraft (A330-900neo), was uncomfortable, somewhat cramped and loud. Noise cancelling headphones helped muffle some of the engine noise. Sleep was difficult, just couldn't get comfortable. Food was very good. Impressions of Atlanta airport: We're pretty familiar with ATL. Huge airport but very efficient and convenient to maneuver. I love this airport for connections. The international concourse/terminal F is beautiful. The plane train takes you to all of the concourses easily. We did not have to go through additional security as we were cleared at our original airport, however, we did have to show our passports at the gate before boarding. Impressions of Delta Sky Lounge in ATL, term F: Very nice, appealing display of food. The outdoor patio was a great place to "land" for a while. Impressions of London Heathrow: So busy, but direction signs are pretty straightforward. Passport control/customs - EASY ! (with the use of gates). Amazing! I dreaded a long delay and it was under 15 minutes. The Virgin arrival lounge was a welcome sight. I actually used the showers there to make me feel human again. Breakfast was also very nice. Atlanta Terminal F - eye candy She's waiting for us !! Upper Class Suite - So excited to take off. Ruby Slipper welcome on-board drink. F Full English breakfast. Well, good morning Merry Old England ! We board Sky Princess today so I will continue on board ...

@Sailaweigh Interesting comment about the insurance cost. Hadn't thought of that.

Oh, I'm sure they'll charge for that too.

I think this change is going to have a major backlash. It doesn't really effect me (we always go Plus) but it looks like a PR disaster. That being said,... IS ANYONE GOING TO STARVE ON A CRUISE SHIP DUE TO THESE CHANGES?

Thank you, @basor

How far in advance of the cruise do you receive them?