Christmas Eve
The later hours of the 23rd and the early hours of Christmas Eve ORIANA had been spent back tracking across the course between Tenerife and Gran Canaria being approximately 12 Nautical Miles (22.23km) of the Northern coast of Gran Canaria by midnight.
Passing through the narrow between the islands of Fueteventura and Lanzarote during the early hours, with ORIANA’s pre arrival checks completed ORIANA began her approach to Arreciefe.
It must been around 05:20 that waking momentarily I looked out through the window to see in the vague outline of Lanzarote in the distance with some of the island’s lights being visible through the slight haze, having woken early the previous days and feeling more like relaxing sleep seemed to be a better option than going up on deck to watch the approach, in any event the coastline was still distant so if I did wake up again before arrival then I could possibly get on deck in time to see the final arrival.
Waking once a again around an hour later and again looking out the window I was greeted by the unexpected sight of Lanzarote being I estimated about the same distance away as it had been an hour before and ORIANA seemed to moving at the same speed and was not moving any nearer to land.
Turning on the ships navigational television channel it revealed that ORIANA was currently at a speed of 16 knots and her course had her off the southern coast of Lanzarote seemingly maintain the same distance from the island over the past half hour.
It seemed to be an extremely strange event and it wasn’t long before an answer was forthcoming, usually announcements from the bridge were not audible from the ships cabins this would only happen on events which were considered to be the upmost importance, on this occasion it was as Captain Brown announced the reasons for ORIANA current position which was that at 5:50 am while beginning her approach to the port the bridge had been informed by the Port control that the port of Arreciefe had been officially closed indefinitely to all shipping due to force 7/8 winds and swells inside the harbour of about 3 metres in height.
Since that time ORIANA along with another Meyer Werft built ship, which I was later to discover was the then new addition to the Aida fleet AIDALUNA, and a local ferry had been waiting to gain permission to enter the port.
Captain Brown continued by saying that after long discussions with the Port Authorities they informed him that the with weather conditions predicated to remain the same throughout the day the decision had been taken for the port to remain closed for the next 12 hours and as a result ORIANA’s call had reluctantly been cancelled although several possibilities had been considered including a visit to the neighbouring island Fueteventura but due to the size dock which was shorter than ORIANA’s overall length the company’s safety procedures would not allow it.
Another possibility was to make a return call to Madeira however this would not be a real possibility due to time constraints; instead the decision was taken to turn ORIANA North and head towards Vigo a day early at a slower speed than would have otherwise been required.
After countless apologies for events which of course beyond his or the company’s control he assured all that even though the weather was expected to worsen during the next hours ORIANA is a strongly built ship in fact the best in the fleet for her sea keeping abilities and that she has been encountering similar weather since her launch in 1995.
Following the Captain’s announcement the cruise director made his own announcement to inform all that along with the entertainment team he was working to ensure that more activities were being organised to complement those what had been arranged previously.
Having been planned as a day in port breakfast was still starting at the earlier time of 7:30am but because of the circumstances was extended to a later finishing time.
With no plans made we made our way to breakfast while walking through the accommodation corridor I noticed that more Christmas decorations had been hung out on cabin doors, it seemed that some passengers were getting into the spirit of things, including the Christmas stockings!
Breakfast was perhaps understandably a little muted I guess a mixture of disappointment and from the looks on the faces of some passengers annoyance, for my part I must admit I didn’t feel either of those two it was my belief that when all is said and done it was no one’s fault just one of those things and after all the port had been closed for safety reasons and really there was little point in complaining.
Sadly for me it seemed that at least one passenger on the breakfast table didn’t agree with my placid and more laid back opinion and thought that someone of my age should keep such opinions to myself.
Not overly impressed by that sort of comment I remained quiet for remainder of breakfast until the passenger left his wife apologising for his complete lack of manners , that was I must say quite satisfying somehow.
With breakfast over and done with I had decided that it would be best to keep out of the way some of the older passengers who I assume were going to be in the same frame of mind as those in the restaurant.
Walking back to the atrium which was looking particularly Christmas like although not so much on the deck 6 level but looking down to deck 5 below a beautiful Gingerbread Christmas Village complete with snowmen had been created by ORIANA’s Chefs It was adorned with lights and above it a Father Christmas figure on a sleigh was attached to the staircase given the scene of a village on an early Christmas morning with Father Christmas overhead delivering presents, like everything else ORIANA’s crew do for the passengers benefit and comfort it looked exceptional.
Christmas Gingerbread VillageAs disappointing as it was, it could have been a whole lot worse after all yes we were at sea instead of spending Christmas Eve on land but we were on board ORIANA who had more than enough on offer and for most it seemed that any upset that had initially been caused by the cancellation was being by most forgotten.
We headed up to The Crow’s Nest picking up on our way a copy of the Britain Today newspaper where from what was written it proved that being on board at this moment was far better than being back at home where it seemed the weather had worsened since our departure with Scotland and Northern parts of England being particularly effected.
Not long after settling down to quiet and relaxing drink Cruise Director Gary arrived and was giving out a revised order of daily activity which promised a full and busy day for those wanted to keep themselves occupied,
Gary began the activities personally with the second of his “Music a’ la carte” performances which seeing as it was being held in The Crow’s Nest and we were already there it seemed to make sense to stay and listen or even pick a song for him to play.
Although it is often said that the entertainment on board a ship is a clichéd mix of older entertainers long past their prime and those just starting out in entertainment that surely wasn’t the case on board ORIANA from the Cruise Director who was immensely talented to the guest performer so as was expected the first of days music entertainment was excellent it was true to say that Gary’s energy and enthusiasm for entertaining complimented ORIANA as an elegant venue.
Another one of the added activities was an extra session of the Spanish languages lessons which was to be held in the nearby Medina Room was another activity that was being held by the Cruise Director, meanwhile in other parts of the ship other activities being held, in the Chaplin’s Cinema the first of the days showing of the festive films was about to be start the film for today was Disney’s Santa Buddies, being a family film and with a subject matter of Puppies I was sure that the theatre would be full of both children and parents with a love of all things puppy related inspired.
Despite the overcast and slightly windswept conditions fans of decks games gathered to enjoy both Quoits and Shuffleboard which were being played aft on the Sun Deck on the Port and Starboard respectively.
A little later still Tennis was also organised at the sports courts and from the looks of some of the more sport loving passengers they were already to get going and enjoy a little physical activities
After gazing out from The Crow’s Nest forward facing windows for a while, something which to be truthful I could do for quite long periods of time such for me is the attraction of the room, we moved off down towards the atrium which by this time was full passengers on every level, down on deck 5 passengers were collecting crosswords from the reception desk as well as talking with the Loyalty/ Future cruises crew members on their desk while nearby the Librarians had set up a small book stall and were selling travel and maritime related books for all ages, looking through I found the book Ships of the White Star Line which instantly caught my attention so much so that I bought the book.
Up a level on deck 6 souvenir stores had been set up opposite the Knightsbridge shop with a selection on offer not being forgotten The Emporium also on this day seemed to be having a good trade on a bizarre mixture of washing powder and paperback novels while above on deck 7 watches were the order of the day on the staircase landing.
Finally overlooking all the sound of piano music filled the air as passengers enjoyed a coffee and biscuits in Tiffany’s.
Passing on through the atrium we found a corner of Lord’s Tavern which was relatively empty which offered it’s usual airy club like atmosphere which at this time of day was surprisingly relaxing with the crowed who would normally frequent the bar elsewhere around the ship.
Beginning about 20 minutes or so after our arrival was a Christmas Quiz although I did wonder how exactly it was possible to hold such a quiz it was none the less interesting to listen to the quiz taken place it seemed, as is mostly always the case that many of those taking part were the regular “quizzers” since they seemed to have a rapport with the entertainment officers hosting the quiz, it was good to see, it seemed like for now any ill will from the mornings disappointment had been forgotten and all on ORIANA were having a good time.
With the time fast approaching 12 and lunch was about to be served.
With 12 bells marking midday and the associated announcement from the officer of the watch, since ORIANA’s departure from Tenerife until present we had travelled 225 Nautical Miles (416.96km).
At present ORIANA was at about 20 knots this was because our next port of call was not until the 26th so the higher speeds which ORIANA could attain would not be required over the next days.
For the facts of the announcement the officer talked about various P&O Christmas traditions as well as company traditions in general which I felt added to the feeling of the company’s rich past and heritage to the on board experience.
At lunch there was a higher attendance then it had been at Breakfast but we were still lucky enough to get a table near the window, despite the sea still looking grey it was still nice to have a view out to sea
After finishing another great lunch I headed back towards the atrium and sat down to sit to spend a little time reading my newest maritime book, reading about some of the greatest liners of the last Century while enjoying being on board one of the most unique ships built since those last liners of the 60’s.
For the afternoon there was more entertainment organised and lectures arranged and from the amount of people who attended the first of the lectures seemed to be very popular with al different age ranges although I couldn’t imagine half of those who were attending having a need for Teeth Whitening! But I as I reflected that is part of the appeal of cruising where passengers get to see and experience shows, lectures and experiences which they would otherwise not have the chance or ordinarily would not want to see.
During the afternoon more festive activities were also taking place with more the afternoon rehearsal for the passenger choir who a little later in the day would be making their first “public performance” at the festive theme on the lido deck, it wasn’t only the elder passengers who would be contributing towards the festive atmosphere on board at about 4pm the younger passengers performed in a Christmas Nativity.
Although not attending myself those who did said it was very nicely performed and although the children were nervous it had left those watching with a warm Christmas feeling, which I assumed was helped by the Mulled Wine on offer from the stewards.
A usual occurrence on board ORIANA’s Christmas Cruises and one that is often looked forward to is the appearance of Father Christmas on board who enters by abseiling down ORIANA’s elegant funnel while the sound of Christmas Songs.
However sadly this time because of the slightly inclement it was decided that it wouldn’t be possible to do that this year instead the choir performed in the Theatre Royal and a camera was set up on the Lido deck as Filming as Father Christmas ran from the funnel.
Although not actually attending while walking on the inside of the promenade deck I did pass him on the way to the theatre, it reminded me of a little over a year before while on board fleet mate AURORA docked in Copenhagen with Father Christmas on the loose, it can truly be said that there is some interesting experiences to be had on board with P&O!
It was with that I knew that it was time again to get ready for what I was sure would be an excellent Christmas Eve dinner.
Prepared we left a little earlier and took the lift up to deck 8 where in Tiffany’s gathered around the Piano was Captain Brown with some of the ships officers and crew forming ORIANA’s crew Choir who were singing both old and new Christmas songs .
It was an interesting sight to see ORIANA’s officers enjoying their singing although judging by their faces I don’t think they would take it up as fulltime career although the passengers seemed to be enjoying in it!
From the atrium we walked aft to the midships lifts and went back down to deck 6 which left us just outside The Peninsular Restaurant which was perfect since dinner was served within minutes.
Inside the restaurant even though there was still a day to go the atmosphere was very festive with Christmas songs playing discreetly in the background offering an excellent backdrop to dinner and conversation.
As was normal our waiter Manoj was there ready to take my father to the table as he left our table wine waitress Cherry was ready to take our drinks order and seeing that it was Christmas Eve I decided to order a bottle of Sparkling wine as an alternative to Rose or White Wine.
A little different from the normal menu cards this one was instead green and its front covered with images of presents of course however interesting the cover was the content was what passengers were looking forward to.
As always it was a treat to behold and just looking at the options made my mouth water and that was before I had made any decisions!
And it was hard to decide but I thought to myself Lamb for main a course and White Chocolate for dessert did seem a nice combination.
The dinner was excellent as we expected not only in terms of food but everything about it the only problem that I could see was that it came to an end!
When it did finally leave we headed to the Theatre for a special Christmas themed musical- Wonderful Christmas Time which through popular Christmas songs, including the Paul McCartney song of the same name, celebrated Christmas its popularity and its traditions.
The show was of the highest possible standard in terms of singing and dancing the performances wouldn’t have been out of place on a stage in the theatres of the West end of London.
As the show came to its conclusion and the cast sang in unison Merry Christmas, those that could, stood and clapped to show their application of the excellent show which we had just watched.
After they had left stage Cruise Director Gary arrived on stage to give a brief rundown of the events taking place during the evening from Piano Music in Tiffany’s and classic recital in the Pacific lounge to a Christmas song quiz in the Lords Tavern.
In Harlequins a Scottish folk band who we had seen some nights before were about to start playing for the Christmas Eve Party.
However for our night the second of Natural High’s Jazz night in The Crow’s Nest seemed to be good relaxing idea to finish a good Christmas Eve at sea.
The atmosphere in The Crow’s Nest did indeed create a relaxing atmosphere with the lighting at a lower level than usual, which the Jazz music complimented perfect way.
The show began at about 9:45pm and the first part lasted for about an hour and second started at around 10:15 and ending about midnight.
The fantastic show was the perfect way to see in Christmas day the first one I had spent at sea.
Arriving back at our cabin we were greeted by not only our cabin made up as always by Roy the cabin steward but also 3 gifts and Christmas cards from the company.
A nice Christmas day at sea on board ORIANA was I thought assured!Photo Copyrights :P&O Cruises & Steve Martin
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