Cruising

It seems that being at sea makes it incredibly difficult to connect to the internet, thus causing problems on the blogging front. But never fear, I have been writing about my experiences as the days went by so I can share them with you now I'm back. You simply have to pretend that I've only just gone away, ok? Brilliant.

I should probably start off with pointing out how cruising (if you haven't already guessed) wouldn't usually be my first choice for a getaway, owing to the restraints on time for exploring and the excessive amount of organised fun. However when my grandad asked if we'd like to go away with him, I was hardly going to turn down the chance for some quality family time, let alone a free trip to five places I've never visited before.

The Aurora! My temporary home :)

After an extremely early get up we finally arrived in Southampton to set sail at 4.30. I've quickly had to adjust to the importance of promptuity during sea travel. Not just for sailaways but also for on board activities and meal times; my fashionably late-ness isn't so fashionable on here it seems. 

The average age of the passengers is probably around late 40s/early 50s, so as you can imagine, me, Rach and Josh are in a bit of a minority (Rach being 19 and Josh, 17). We're trying to convince Josh to give the kids club a go, though maybe calling it the 'kids' club isn't the best persuasive tactic we could use... Luckily we are all quite introverted at some level and get on pretty well, so really I have no quarms about whether or not we meet other passengers. Usually I love to make friends and get to know other people's back stories etc, but since everyone on this ship is English and rather posh, I'm happy spending time in the company of my own family :)

Our first three days have been at sea, the majority of our time being consumed by swimming, sunbathing and eating far too much. Unlimited buffets are both a blessing and a curse (specifically on my waistline). At first I found it quite difficult to relax, as I'm not particularly good at doing nothing, but it's fair to say I'm starting to appreciate the break from the madness that is London. I've also enjoyed being able to catch up on recent film releases, since I haven't really seen many in the past two years.

Why are we all so fit?

Tomorrow is our first port day, I'm itching to get off and explore! First stop, Madiera.