Fire & Ice Tour (aboard the Crown Princess) Part 1

Transatlantic Journal – Entry Prime
Monday, 29 August 2011

Greetings from the middle of the North Sea!

We’ve been aboard the Crown Princess for about 24 hours now, and we’re getting back into our usual shipboard routines of eating, napping, working out (Steve), laundry (Allan), more eating, and chocolate martinis (three guesses who). The ship sailed late from Southampton, England yesterday due to the death of one of the passengers from a coronary (Code Alpha, apparently, to the crew). The sailing was beautiful as we zig-zagged down the Solent River, past the Isle of Wight (which was very forest-y green).

Alas, just as we were heading to dinner, another Code Alpha. The person was on the gurney being wheeled past us on the deck below as we made our way to the Michelangelo Dining Room.  The good news is that the person lived, the bad news being that the ship had to turn around and head back to the Isle of Wight for a medical pickup. Therefore, we are a good 6 hours behind schedule (we weren’t made aware of this until this morning). This means that our arrival in Bergen on Tuesday will now be something like 5:00PM and greatly shortened.

[Note: Allan wanted to call this entry “Dinner with Drama: Thrombosis on the High Seas”, but I thought it was just too tacky.]

Also, we are now experiencing Gale Force 9 winds and the seas have gotten fairly rough. Most access to the outside decks have been closed off. Nevertheless, it didn’t diminish the fun at the first LGBT gathering this evening. There were a couple of guys from Chicago, a pair from Hawaii, and a delightful couple from Zurich. We got duded up (no tuxes this trip, but smart jackets and ties) and enjoyed the Captain’s Welcome Dinner. We encountered a fun waiter named Juan last night, and asked for one of his tables tonight. We weren’t disappointed, and enjoyed a delicious Chilean red (Calterras) with our surprisingly good steaks.

I’ll cover the previous few days, just to keep everything complete…

Thursday, August 25^th - Seattle to London

Uncle Roy was kind enough to take Allan and I to the Mt. Baker light rail station where we zoomed off to the airport. We arrived in plenty of time, and Icelandair check-in was a breeze. Security lines were quick and easy. After a mid-day schnekken we spent some time in the British Airways Terraces Lounge, which had very comfortable seating, warm service from several attendants, and a selection of boring packaged snacks.

Boarding of our Icelandair flight #680 to Keflavik, Iceland was delayed because they had to change a bulb in several of the Exit signs. One might ask, “Why didn’t Delta Ops cover this the night before while the plane was undergoing its maintenance?”, but let’s not go there. As it was, we started boarding after our scheduled departure time and left 35 minutes late.

Despite our seat assignments being as solid as jello on dry ice for the past six months, we passengers in Economy Comfort managed to sit as we wished. The seats (5A and 5C) were wide and comfortable (2-across on each side of the aisle), even if the legroom wasn’t commensurate with the width. The service was gracious and warm, completely the opposite of what I’d read on various blogs. Food was okay, and the entertainment on the seatback video screens was nicely varied (I watched “The Adjustment Bureau”).

Friday, August 26^th – Keflavik to London

We arrived just 10 minutes late at 7:00AM into a very brown and tundra-esque Keflavik Airport on the southwest tip of Iceland. The airport was modern and beautiful, and even though we had to clear security, go through passport control into Iceland, and then 3 minutes later go through passport control out of Iceland, we made our connecting flight in plenty of time.  Icelandair flight #450, another 757-200, left a little late, and we were seated in 4D and 4F. Pleasant service again, but the odd choice of food available (always the same on certain routes) provided turkey sandwiches. They were good, but for breakfast? Oh well….

Heathrow Airport was quite overcast, and our arrival necessitated three circles to the west of the airport prior to arrival over London. Alas, we didn’t see anything until we were about 90 seconds away from touch-down. Heathrow was the typical zoo, but we finally got to see some Airbus A380s (a/k/a “Whalejets”) in person (QANTAS and Singapore Air). By the time we arrived at the gate at Terminal 1, we were 35 minutes late. Sharp readers will now note that we arrived exactly as late as we left Seattle…

Terminal 1 is slated for demolition this decade, and it’s none too soon; Corridor after boring corridor until you reach Passport Control, then a long queue before you talk to a nice Englishman. More corridors of adverts until you get to baggage claim. The good news was that the minute we got to baggage claim, our checked bags showed up on the carousel. What timing!

After Allan had a much-needed smoke break (quite cranky in Keflavik L), we took the Tube (Piccadilly Line) into London proper. With no change of train to Green Park, it was fairly easy and about 45 minutes. It was a nice bookend to our taking the light rail in Seattle.

We checked in at the Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel in the heart of Mayfair, about two blocks from Berkley Square (where the nightingale sang in the song of old). This is a lovely boutique hotel that’s classically decorated and very English cozy. We love staying here, but there’s certainly a price to be paid for “classically decorated and English cozy”….

A shower and change of clothes brought us a little back to life, and we went to a favorite Lebanese bistro around the corner called Beiteddine Express. I had a Kafta sandwich (lamb) and Allan had a chicken shawarma wrap - quite good. The only downside was the TV in the corner that was blasting some Imam intoning endlessly about something. My co-workers know about “Screaming Burger Lady”. This would be “The Screaming Imam Place”. At least the food and service were good. J

We took a stroll down Piccadilly and visited the beautiful Burlington Arcade (dating back to 1817). Think of it as the first indoor mall. Allan bought some beautiful Scottish scarves, and when we got to Regent Street, he bought a brightly striped dress shirt at (Curtis & Hawes) a store that prided itself on outrageous (yet tastefully tailored) shirts. Yes, dear reader: even outrageous for Allan.

After a much-needed nap, we took the Tube to Aldgate East and then walked over to Brick Lane. Thanks to Jon Nicholson’s daughter Mackenzie for recommending this! Brick Lane is to Indian food in London what East 6^th Street is to New Yorkers: one restaurant after another, with touts out front. Very low-to-middle grade – nothing high-end here.

We ate at a Yelp 4-starred restaurant named “Aladin”. It was packed with London’s young professionals and was incredibly loud (they happened to be incredibly boozy). Happily, the food was good, and we broke the curse of bad Indian food in London from our last trip. At the next table (about 13 people in total) was a delightful and slightly tipsy young woman who, when she found out we were from Seattle, raved about Pagliacci Pizza and Top Pot Donuts (she used to date a guy there). She recommended a restaurant that we ended up visiting the next night (more about that in the next entry).

After the satisfying dinner, we headed back on the Tube to Mayfair and to our waiting comfy bed.

One bit of wonderful news on this date: my cousin Noa and her husband Tim brought forth a little girl into the Brooklyn morning. Mama and baby are doing fine, and now Dorothy Rose has a little sister to play with (and ultimately dominate) for the next 17 years…

Saturday, August 27^th –London

We slept in late and then enjoyed a full English breakfast in the hotel. We made our way via Tube to the Tower of London, where Allan would finally fulfill his wish of seeing the Crown Jewels. The weather was very on and off, so we had sunshine mixed with rain showers. Good thing we brought raincoats and brollies.

The Tower of London was the usual melee of tourists, but we had fun seeing the various sites and walking the wall overlooking the Thames. Allan swooned over a scepter, Queen Victoria’s small crown (lots of diamonds), and the Crown of State (diamonds and many other stunning precious stones). We got some terrific photos of Tower Bridge – the lighting was perfect.

From the Tower we headed west along Cannon Street, stopping for a quick lunch at La Bottega del Caffè, a chain that serves great coffee and good Panini  sandwiches. The waiter was very Italiano: handsome and sweet. I think men are one of Italy’s best exports…

We continued walking and popped into St. Paul’s Cathedral, which Allan had never seen. Since they now charge £14.90 to enter (about $24), we popped right out again. We found a terrific card shop nearby that had some fun cards including “The Pig of Happiness”.

We walked and walked, and finally at Holborn Circle gave our feet a rest and took the Tube to Piccadilly Circus. A deluge started just as we neared Fortnum & Mason, so we popped into that famed establishment and ooh’d and aah’d at the amazing foodstuffs on displays. All in tasteful, beautiful packaging. And none at what any sane person would consider reasonably priced.

We crossed the street and visited the Burlington Arcade again (this time I bought some lovely Scottish woolen scarves) and Allan revisted the shirt shop where he purchased an even more outrageous shirt. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were fairly rain-sodden.

Another nap (yes, darlings, we’re both over 40 and jet-lag is harder as you get older, especially from the West coast) and then it was time for dinner. This turned out to be a treat: the restaurant is called “Roast” and is located within/above the Floral Hall at Borough Market, near London Bridge station. Terrific food in a contemporary atmosphere: we had a buffalo mozzarella, roast figs and mint as a starter (smashing!) followed by delicious pork belly served with mashed potatoes and local applesauce.

Roast prides itself on locally-produced foods, and it did not disappoint. Even the dessert we shared was fun: four mini-cones of ice cream. You’ll just have to wait for the pictures (yes, we are very Japanese tourist when it comes to taking pictures of food).

A quick ride back to Mayfair on the Jubilee line, then packing and off to bed.

Sunday, August 28^th –London to Southampton and then aboard the Crown Princess

Another nice hotel breakfast, checkout at 11AM, and then by taxi to Victoria Coach Station. Yes, coach, as we had a pre-arranged transfer with Princess Cruises from London to the port of Southampton, about 90 miles to the southwest.

We ended up being in the third and last bus, and enjoyed chatting with the jovial, beary-y driver Noel. He even pointed out where Kevin Spacey’s London residence is, as well as mentioning that his two cars (a Land Rover and an Aston-Martin) had the custom plates “2 BE” and “NOT 2 BE”. We actually saw the latter in the driveway.

It was a nice drive to Southampton, even though we hit horrible traffic on the M25 near Heathrow Airport. Two hours later we arrived at the beautiful, modern Ocean Terminal where the Crown Princess was docked. Check-in was fast and friendly, and we were aboard the ship mere minutes after arriving. Our cabin, 625 on the Riviera Deck, features a balcony and very lofty views (we’re deck 14 of 16). Our cabin steward, Julius, is a cheery little Filipino man, as they always seem to be on this cruise line.

And that brings everything up to date! More publishing as we have the time, but we are aiming to keep it chock-full of details.