WG’s Christmas Cruise 2025 – Part Two

Sunday 21st December. Sailing Day.

There is no mad rush to do anything this morning. Apple Maps tells me it will take 1 hour and twenty minutes to get to the cruise terminal, and I have a boarding time on my embarkation time of 12:15, so I plan to leave at 10:45. The car is loaded; I have decided which curtains will be closed and which open. I have set up the timer to turn some lights on, and I am ready to go. But it’s a bit early, so I settled down to do a bit of shit posting.

I was interrupted by the doorbell, and it was the LGND this time with her Mummy. She was keeping her promise to show me her advent calendar charm bracelet. It is really rather nice, with all the Christmassy charms on it, everything from candy canes to angels, and she was delighted. She was off to Sunday School and was going to show it off to all her friends.

The time to go arrived, and off I went, and kept in line with the satnav’s timing until I got to going around Chichester, where there were queues at every roundabout. Slowly the arrival time at Cruise Terminal slipped from 12:10 to 12:20, but I could put up with that. Then I hit roadworks with a 40-mph speed limit. I just cleared them and there was a second lot. I finally arrived at the Cruise Terminal at 12:40, but as I had priority boarding, I skipped the worst of the queues and was on the ship by 1 o’clock and sitting down to the special lunch for Baltic Level and above members of the Peninsula Club by five past.

Lunch was a buffet, with free drinks, in one of the Main Dining Rooms, but was very good even if I did stick to salad, pâté and pork pie. Midway through the meal there was an announcement that the cabins were ready, so when I had finished eating, I made for my cabin. It was at the opposite end of the ship and quite a hike. On arrival I was happy to find my case outside my cabin door.

The big question was, do I unpack now or have a little rest first. The latter won, only for my snooze to be interrupted by the cabin steward arriving to introduce himself and deliver a miniature fir tree that he says I can take home, as they only get dumped in the trash at the end of the cruise. So, I decided to unpack and found the cabin reviews I had read were correct. There is a whole load of wardrobes and hanging space, but a lack of drawers.

Arcadia is one of P&O’s older and smaller ships, built in 2005, and despite a recent refit, its age shows in several places. There is only one 3-pin socket in the cabin, the bathroom is a little old-fashioned, and I have a bath with a shower over, something of a rarity these days. On the other hand, the soft furnishings look to have been changed and the MDR furniture is particularly comfortable.

There was quite a big queue for dinner, as everyone was being shown to their allotted table. I have been allocated a table for 8 and I was the lone man with six ladies (there was one unused seat). It appears that I will be dining in the evening with 6 merry widows.

A very pleasant dinner. I started with a very nice prawn cocktail, but to be honest I could have picked any of the starters, they all looked excellent. Then it was rib of beef (medium rare), roast potatoes, kale, green beans and a Yorkshire pudding. The beef was beautiful, tender and tasty. Most of the ladies went for the roast chicken and several complained it was dry. I finished up with ice cream and a cup of tea. A most enjoyable meal.

The clocks go on an hour overnight, as our first port of call is A Coruña in northern Spain. One other minor problem is that the ship seems to be creaking a fair bit as I got ready for bed.

Monday 22nd December. At sea.

It was pitch black outside when I woke up, and the ship was rolling a bit. According to the TV, we were turning from the Channel south to the Bay of Biscay and were being caught by the waves from the Atlantic hitting us side on. Strangely, the forecast is for the sea to calm down as we cross the Bay of Biscay.

Down to the Main Dining Room for breakfast, as you no doubt remember from my past tales, I am a snob, and I will not use the buffet unless I am forced to. I was in the MDR shortly after it opened and was placed on a sharing table for eight, which filled up quickly. There are two queues at the dining room entrance, one for people willing to share and one for people wanting to sit on a two. But there is a huge demand for twos, and they have put out announcements that if you are willing to share, you will be accommodated much more quickly.

Very pleasant group on the table for breakfast, and the conversation flowed. One thing I have already noticed on this cruise is that nearly everyone is an experienced cruiser, unlike the Caribbean, where there are lots of first timers. Anyway, I ordered a breakfast that is tried and tested. Orange juice, Rice Krispies, scrambled eggs and bacon, and of course square toast. I am happy to report it was up to standard, and my several cups of tea were hot and strong.

As I ate breakfast, the sky gradually lightened, and at first the horizon appeared, then slowly the choppy sea emerged with loads of white horses. The wind was whipping the spray away from the tops of the white horses. No wonder the ship was rolling. I wandered back to my cabin to collect my Kindle and was walking like a drunk, bouncing off the walls of the gangway. Anyway, my cabin steward had been in and I had a nice clean cabin, so I sat on my sofa and updated this diary instead of reading.

Lunchtime arrived and I popped out to the place up by the Neptune Pool (the pool with a retractable glass roof) for a hot dog with lashings of fried onions and a bottle of Doom Bar. On the way back to my cabin for my Kindle, I noticed the sea had calmed down and the sea state is now officially moderate, with just the occasional white horses. But we now seem to be gently pitching instead of rolling so much. However, due to the wind, a number of outside decks are closed, and because of the ship’s movement the pools are closed. I think it’s time for a read and a snooze before getting ready for the first formal night of the cruise.

The daily guide to what’s on and when around the ship clearly says that the doors of the MDR open at 18:15 for the sitting that starts at 18:30, so I was surprised to find a crowd filling the lobby outside the restaurant and going up the nearest stairs when I arrived at 18:25. The doors opened at 18:30 and the mass swarmed in. As usual for a ‘Black Tie’ event, there was an enhanced menu. I started with the amuse-bouche, the menu said it was a strawberry Bloody Mary, but tasted like strawberry juice with a dash of pepper, thank goodness it was only a tiny amount.

For starters, I chose chicken terrine, which came with a crumb. I have no idea what the crumb was, but it was quite tasty. Then the soup course, green pea and ham, and I must say it made up for what had gone before. I was torn between fillet steak with tiger prawns and halibut. I chose the former. My medium rare steak was nearer medium well done and was a bit tough, but everything else was good. Dessert for me was vanilla sponge pudding and custard and made up for my previous disappointments, it was delicious. Finally, a decent cup of tea and chocolate truffles. A meal that was a bit hit and miss, and I can’t help wondering if I would have been better off with the halibut.

Of course, a cruise wouldn’t be a cruise without a night cap in the Crow’s Nest.

Tuesday 23rd December. A Coruña, northern Spain.

This is a city I have visited several times before, so I have attempted to find an excursion I haven’t been on before. It departs at 09:30, so it will be an early breakfast. I am delighted to see the MDR opens at 07:30 today, so I have plenty of time to eat there and don’t have to suffer the Belvedere Buffet.
I am placed on a table of six this morning with a couple on their first Christmas cruise, a man on his own who was on my breakfast table yesterday, but I didn’t get to speak to him as he was at the opposite end of the table, and a mother and daughter. The daughter is only on for Christmas while the mother is staying on for the World Cruise, which starts on the day we get back to Southampton. The daughter is sharing the cabin for this cruise and is paying just £200 for this 16-day cruise. My normal breakfast, start with tea, orange juice, and Rice Krispies, but today is a mushroom omelette day and it was nice and hot and fluffy.

I have a while to wait before I then to be heading for my coach trip, so I think it a spot more of my Kindle book. The coach for today’s trip wasn’t full, so I had the advantage of two seats for myself. The courier announced that we would be making four stops and were due back at the ship at 14:00. The first stop was the Hercules Tower, very interesting if you haven’t seen it before. It is an old, rebuilt, Roman lighthouse with lots of myths and legends about it, but I have seen it several times before and had no intention of dragging my weary bones up the steep hill to its base. The courier asked why I had plonked myself down on a bench in the park below the access road, and I told her I had been here at least four times now and there was no need to trudge up the hill, I already have loads of photos.

It was lovely and sunny and quite pleasant people watching while waiting for the rest of the party to return. As we drove away, a sea mist rolled in and I was happy to be on our way to our next stop, the ancient hill town of Betanzos. A lovely old place, full of narrow cobbled streets and lots of churches. A very interesting, guided walking tour in the beautiful sunshine before reboarding the bus for our third stop, lunch. Where we stopped, I have no idea, except it was a very nice hotel and there was so much food and drink on the buffet it could have served twice as many people.

The final stop was at a viewpoint in a park on the opposite side of the bay to the Cruise Terminal. I took several photos of the distant Arcadia, the ultra-modern Maritime Control Tower and the Tower of Hercules. I did learn one thing on the trip that answered a question I had for some time. Why some maps show the port as A Coruña and others La Coruña. It seems it is ‘La’ in Spanish and ‘A’ the local language of Galicia.

Down to dinner with the Merry Widows. As I mentioned before, it’s me and six ladies on an eight. Well tonight another diner joined us, a transfer from another table where she was not getting on with some of her dining companions. I can quite see why, she is very loud and dominated the conversation. Anyway, I can put up with her for a couple of weeks (I hope). Tonight, I started with an old favourite, tomato soup, then it was rolled fillet of sole, stuffed with salmon mousse, on a bed of mashed potatoes and leeks and was exceptional. Finally, I had lemon posset served with a shortbread biscuit. A most enjoyable meal.

Of course, an evening wouldn’t be complete without a vodka and lemonade for a nightcap.

Wednesday 24th December. Christmas Eve in Vigo.

A happy Christmas Eve to all my readers. I woke just after six and it was still pitch-black outside, with a few twinkling lights on the other side of the bay as we edged into the cruise terminal. No rush to get up, as breakfast in the MDR is until 07:30 on port days, it is 08:00 on sea days as people tend to sleep in. It was a few minutes after opening when I reached the MDR and there was no one queueing, so it was straight in and shown to a table for six where I was the first.

Seconds later I was joined by a couple whom I had breakfasted with yesterday. Then very quickly another man and then a couple. As soon as the table is full, the waiter clicks into action taking orders. I find it interesting what mixtures people choose for breakfast. I can understand some having cereal, some having porridge, even some having fresh fruit or possibly prunes. But the single man had them all! A bowl of Rice Krispies that he adds a segmented orange to. Followed by a bowl of porridge topped with prunes and a sliced banana. Not for me, thank you. I had the same as yesterday, a bowl of Rice Krispies and a mushroom omelette and square toast. I am sure some of you are thinking ‘That’s not for me’, but I really enjoyed it and my square toast.

Back to my cabin and a Christmas present and card from P&O. This year it is yet another Christmas tree bauble, but this year there is also a miniature bottle of gin, as distilled on Arvia, and a can of Fever-Tree tonic. Better than last year’s Christmas tree bauble and a book on the history of P&O. Pity I don’t drink gin.

I popped out for a stroll around the shops of Vigo this morning but saw nothing I wanted to buy, so I headed back for lunch. Up to what is laughingly called the Neptune Grill, because it is beside the Neptune Pool. I picked up a hamburger with fried onions and a load of salad stuff. Most enjoyable, sitting by the pool under the retractable glass roof with the sun warming the place like a greenhouse.

I decided to have a reading afternoon. I am halfway through my second book. All I can say is thank you to whoever invented the Kindle, it is so much better than having a load of paperbacks to lug in your suitcase.

A special enhanced Christmas Eve menu tonight. I started with French onion soup. It always comes with a huge crouton with cheese on it. It is rather like having cheese on toast floating in your soup. I always ask for it without the crouton as I can’t eat the cheese. Then it was roast lamb loin in a minted crust. I can’t sing this dish’s praises highly enough, it was spectacular, the lamb was perfect, as were the potatoes and vegetables. My first 10 out of 10 of the cruise. Dessert was a Christmas sundae. Chocolate brownies, ice cream, whipped cream, cranberries, toasted almonds and chocolate sprinkles, it was eaten in a flash.

I had been given some Christmas cards by the LGND’s Daddy to deliver to members of Pulse, the ship’s resident pop band. They are not really to my taste, but they were performing in the Globe last night. It’s a smallish room with a stage, a dance floor, a semi-circular bank of raised seating and a bar. I popped in to deliver the cards just before they began their second session of the evening and there wasn’t a seat in the place, and people were standing at the back and around the bar. I didn’t stay. I found a seat in the Crow’s Nest for my nightcap, much more to my taste.

In Part 3, Christmas at Sea
 

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