Evening
The headline act act in the evening was a ventriloquist, Gareth Oliver; and we wanted to catch his early show. The Savoy was full and we were directed next door to the Verona. After our meal the night before we declined to sit on the same table which had a low couch rather then chairs.
This request wasn’t met with a lot of enthusiasm by the maitre d’it and by the two servers that whose table we were placed on. These two guys were by the far the most miserable of anyone that met on the whole cruise. I wasn’t excited by the menu (or perhaps it was the miserable servers?), I had the US version of a prawn cocktail, a Caesar salad and a (disastrous) burger. This was on a limp bun, the promised bacon was missing in action and the burger itself was way over cooked. We walked out without waiting to be subjected to dessert or any more of the grumpy service.
The Theatre was not too full and we enjoyed a drink while we waited for the ventriloquist. By 8 pm there was standing room only and we were treated to a short performance by the ship’s entertainers before the ventriloquist came on stage.
He did 10 minutes of stand-up comedy which was in his own self-deprecating style and very funny. His puppets were as we’d seen him before but his act was different enough that we all had a great time.
Myles and I headed off to Club Fusion and perched ourselves on a couple of stools to watch the European Cup Final. We had missed the first 10 minutes or so but it seems that we hadn’t missed much. The second half was more exciting and Myles (as a Spurs fan) enjoyed each of the Chelsea goals.
It was a late night for all of us but the clocks went back an hour to align with UK time so we did get an extra hour’s sleep.
From the Cruise Log
Le Verdon – Wednesday, 29th May 2019
Overnight Sapphire Princess maintained various north-westerly courses through the North Sea. At 06:50 we embarked our local pilot who assisted us with his local knowledge. At 06:42 the Officer of the Watch instructed the Engine Control Room to ‘Stand by Below’ as once again we readied the vessel for manoeuvring. With the pilot already on-board, Sapphire Princess proceeded inbound as we prepared to come alongside our berth. Sapphire Princess cast her first line ashore at 08:33 and we were, ‘all fast’ at 09:07, at the same time the Officer of the Watch instructed the Engine Control Room that the Bridge had ‘Finished with Engines as Sapphire Princess settled down for a quiet day alongside in the Port.
At 17:18 Sapphire Princess was almost ready to depart and once again the OOW rang ‘Stand by Below’. The Gangway was shipped and with all of our guests on-board we let go our last line at 17:50. Sapphire Princess then followed reciprocal courses out of the harbour. Once clear of the port limits we set a north-westerly course towards our next port of call St. Peter Port.
At Noon
Position: Le Verdon
Sky: Overcast with heavy rain
Air Temperature: 11°C / 51.8°F
Pressure: 1007 mbs wind; Southerly, Force 4
Sea: Calm