SarahHben

We’ve got to our hotel. Traffic was heavy getting here, and there are matches at the Ageas Bowl tonight so our car park at the Holiday inn Express next door to the Hilton is totally full and overflowing. Dinner in the restaurant was very nice. Looking forward to boarding Ventura tomorrow 😊

Thanks, you too 😁

We have squirrel problems rather than cat problems, my hubbie frequently runs out into the garden chasing them away from his plants. Well, we are all packed & ready to leave for Southampton tomorrow lunchtime. I think there should be a group for Over-Packers Anonymous 🥴 It’s due to be a bit blowy on Saturday on the south coast!

That’s so sad 😞 Thinking of you x

Thank you, I will have a look through some other roll calls.

Morning, When pre-booking speciality dining is there any way of knowing which menu you’ll be getting on which night? I’d like to book the Epicurean but one of the menus appeals to us more than the other. 2 weeks until we head off to Southampton for our cruise 😁

I'm pretty sure he just got a warning

I’m ready and waiting 😁 I missed the men’s wheelchair finals this morning, gutted for Hewitt but at least he won the doubles yesterday.

It’s not the Hilton we’re staying at unfortunately but the Holiday Inn Express is very close to there. I’d like to try the Hilton one day too.

My parents are on that cruise and we’re driving them down, staying in Fareham the night before, couldn’t get anywhere closer because of the Boat Show. We’re hoping to drop them off at Ocean Terminal then go to the Harbour Hotel for lunch before driving home so I hope they don’t get a late boarding time 🥴

Yes I think we’ll drop our luggage off first if they let us do that. My sister and her family are going on Iona the same day and have 2:15 boarding. We’re all staying at the Holiday Inn express near the Ageas Bowl the night before so will need to check out at 11am.

Oh I think he’s probably right 😁 I gout my grandson home from nursery yesterday and discovered he had shoes but no socks on. I asked him several times what happened to his socks with only mumbled replies, then he held my face and said ‘I already told you, they got wet so I threw them away’ 🥴😂 Fortunately the nursery staff found them at the end of the day. They do say some funny things!

I don’t always post as much these days, but I enjoy seeing your photos 😊

We’ve just been given an arrival time of 3:30pm for our Ventura cruise in 3 weeks. I guess we’ll be parking up at Mayflower Park with a book & coffee each while we wait 🥴

Regarding insurance for youngsters, what we did was added my husband to our newly passed children's car insurance and that brought the cost down a little. It was their insurance not his, but him being on it helped.

Those years have gone quickly! It's good that he knows the staff a bit, that will help him settle. We have another year before our Grandson goes to school and I think he'll be going to the school that I volunteer at. Thanks, I'm getting very excited now, my sister and her family are travelling down to Southampton with us but they're going on Iona the same day that we go on Ventura.

Glad you had a good time! Is your Grandson off to school in September? My son took the day off work today and treated me to lunch in a pancake restaurant in Kensington, London, very nice, it was like a pizza but pancake. Then we walked and walked and walked, Kensington Gardens plus the Italian Gardens, Hyde Park, Harrods, Piccadilly, Fortnum's, Green Park, St James's Park, an ice cream break then back to the station and home. Exhausted now. 3 and a half weeks until our cruise so I need to do as much walking as possible 😏

Heartbreaking, you and your family have my deepest sympathies. I can’t even begin to imagine your pain and loss, so very sad.

Have a great time Andy ☺️

This is a video of the cabin next door to yours, so I would expect yours to be the opposite way round, with the bed next to the conservatory door and the sofa next to the wardrobe.

We didn’t use room service so I’m not sure.

We had breakfast in Coral restaurant on our 2 sea days, really enjoyed it. We went to the buffet once for breakfast but the other days we used the Quays, the food choices in the Quays was good and always found a quiet spot. If you go to the Quays, to get a quieter table we walked down a few sections away from the serving areas, in the direction of Ripples ice creams. That area was usually mostly empty.

I’m taking half a dozen with me for handbags, lanyards etc. They came in very handy last year.

We had no problems using it last May on Iona & my parents said it was fine on Iona in January, neither times were in school holidays though.

I’m sure we will enjoy it but we are going knowing that she’s an older ship that won’t feel as bright and airy as Iona. I’m expecting the biggest difference to be the cabin which looks more dated with the decor and furniture. I have warned my hubbie that he may not fit under the shower head properly and that there’s a shower curtain not a screen. The small tvs won’t bother us as we won’t be watching tv. We chosen a deck C balcony so that our outside space is bigger. We were spoiled really with our first ever cabin being a conservatory mini suite. Sounds daft but I think we’ll miss having the Quays too. One thing Ventura has that Iona doesn’t, drawers for your undies 😁