MO goes Around the World

A bit of a hectic morning. Packing was finished and the car was loaded. Thanks to Jay for helping with the Tetris of bag arrangement in the boot of the small SUV before he left.

Departure from St. Andrews was about 9:30 AM, 15 minutes later than planned. It was 90+ minutes to the port in Leith. A short wait in the queue to get golf bags and luggage unloaded for processing on to the ship. Joe stayed at the port while Marianne returned the car to the airport rental car center. Waze estimated at 35 minute trip but gas was required before returning the vehicle so the entire trip to the airport rental car return was over an hour. Marianne chose to stop at a Tesco Fuel station that offered a car wash. Car wash? The explanation for that is very simple. On the way to St. Andrews, Marianne found more of the left gutter than the middle of the road. Hence the left tires and wheel covers were a bit muddy. Also the gulls had had quite the party on the car resulting in a good bit of white stuff. And a good bath might help when the turn-in inspection on the rental car was performed. The thinking being dirt would result in a closer examination of the vehicle and no dirt might help said inspector not look more closely. £6 seemed a small price to pay to avoid a closer inspection.

It seemed to work. The young man who accepted the car was very complimentary of Marianne’s ability to maneuver more than once through the four lanes of car rental return. And he was complimentary of using a standard transmission on a right-hand drive SUV and not incurring any damage. Whew!

Now to find the tram. A five minute walk to the tram, ticket purchase for £7.9, a seven minute wait and the hour plus ride back to the port was underway. A lovely ride through several areas of Edinburgh. A scouting trip as well for the return to Edinburgh on the next leg of the cruise. Arrived at Ocean Terminal and went through a gamut to get on board. Joe boarded while Marianne was on her odyssey. On board at 1:55 PM. Room was ready at 2.

This journey is in an Owner’s Suite. Thanks to Future Cruise Credit from the World Cruise, Marianne and Joe were able to add a few dollars to get the suite. It’s impressive by size but lacking in drawers and the bathroom is awkwardly arranged. Probably the first and last time for this cabin for those reasons.

This is also a Perry Golf cruise for Joe and Marianne. There will be five rounds of golf on the cruise. More on that to come. So there was check-in for that and then the required muster drill.

Next up at 6:00 was cocktails and hors d’oeuvres with the other Perry golf golfers and non-golfing partners. The protocols were explained. A packet had been given at check-in with pairings and tee times. Then dinner as a group in Discoveries, the main dining room. Our host was Colin Dalgleish, one of the founders of Perry Golf. Marianne had mussels for an appetizer and gnocchi for a main course. Joe had prawns for an appetizer and stuffed pork loin for a main. For dessert Joe had the fabulous rum raisin gelato and Marianne had crème brûlée as a toast to our WC friends Carol and Greg.

Off to bed. Sea day tomorrow and clocks move forward.