The End of a Voyage

Early on the morning of May 10, we sailed through the English Channel and arrived back in Southampton—121 days and approximately 40,000 nautical miles later, having sailed through more seas than we could count. Gray skies and rain greeted us, matching our glum mood as we faced the end of our voyage.

We rose at the crack of dawn so we could have a quick breakfast, gather our hand baggage from our cabin, and report to the Britannia Dining Room to wait for our call to disembark. It was sad leaving the cabin that had been our home away from home for four months, and even sadder saying farewell to Kenneth, our cabin attendant. He had always been close by wishing us a good day or good night and helping us with whatever we needed. We were envious of the passengers who would be occupying our cabin that evening when the ship sailed. As we walked down the corridor for the final time, Kenneth called out to us, “Thank you for making the bed everyday.” I dislike seeing an unmade bed and didn’t want to wait for someone to make it for us.

Cabin 5131 - Our Home Away From Home

We waited in the Britannia Dining Room for our group to be called to disembark. The day before, we had received notice of where we were to wait. Disembarking passengers were assigned to various lounges throughout the ship, clearing the cabins and enabling the cabin attendants to prepare them for the next group of passengers. It was an extremely busy time for the crew with so little turnaround time before the next lucky group of passengers arrived.

The waiting groups were called one by one, enabling a steady stream of passengers to disembark without everyone jamming the gangways at one time.

While we waited, we chatted with Zoe and Alan who were the very first people we met on the day we sailed. It seemed like so long ago. Believe it or not, they only discovered the two large storage drawers under the bed on their last night on the ship. They found them when they reached under the bed for their stored luggage. The drawers are at the foot of the bed, but the dust ruffle covers them. Early in the voyage, after discovering them by accident, I had wondered if anyone would complete the voyage without finding them. Obviously so. I wonder how many passengers didn’t know they were there. Cunard should post a note on the wall, “Additional storage drawers under the bed.”

Helmet and Brumhild, our German friends who would be staying on the ship until Hamburg, came into the dining room to say goodbye. We also said goodbye to our tablemates for four months, John and Beverly and Rory and Mollie. That was the hardest part of coming to the end of our journey—saying goodbye to people we had become so fond of.

When our group was called, we gathered our all-too-many pieces of hand luggage and walked down the gangway for the final time. Some passengers, like us, had flights to catch, while others were only a few miles from home.

We came out into a large covered area where buses, taxis, and cars waited for passengers. A man holding a placard with our name on it greeted us and loaded our luggage into his van. We had arranged to be met by Smiths for Airports to travel to Heathrow, and found that we had the same driver who met us at the beginning of our trip. He was interested in hearing about our travels. Having traveled to so many places and seen so much, we didn’t know where to start. He asked what had been our favorite places. That was a hard one since every place had been a terrific experience. Mulling it over, I said “Petra in Jordan.” John said “Salalah, Oman.” That could change with each telling, depending on our mood.

At the airport, we found the area with a scale where we could weigh our luggage. Some pieces were heavier than others, so we spent a few minutes moving items from one case to another to balance the weight—each case was very close to being over the limit. We held our breath when we checked in and put our luggage up for the ticket agent to process and let out a sigh of relief when we saw each piece go down the conveyor belt. No excess weight fees.

When our flight was finally called and we took off, we looked out the window at the English countryside and said a final farewell to England and an adventure of a lifetime.

Is a long voyage in your future?

My final post will include some things we wish we had known or done, and some things that might help anyone contemplating a long voyage. Stay tuned.