World Cruise Day 137/152 - Tilbury, England - Day 2 in Tilbury and the vibe has changed

Cruise day: 137/152

Ports days: 68
Sea days: 69
Countries: 22
Continents: 5
Ports: 50

We awoke a little late today as we are still in Tilbury with nothing planned.  Friends told us about a ferry that leaves from just behind our ship.  For 4 or five pounds, they take you the 5-10 minutes south across the Thames to Gravesend.  We thought about doing that but then thought that once the Homelands cruise starts, we'll be going, going, going, every day.  Perhaps, just taking a day to throw in a load of laundry, and just relax might be a good idea.  So that's what we did.

This morning, bunkering operations began.  Bunkering is a fancy nautical term for gassing up.  The fuel vessel came alongside with the assistance of a tug.  They tied off to us and were snugged up against our port side.  The tug remained here during the operation, firmly planted on the other side of the fuel vessel, keeping it snug against our hull.

Bunkering takes a long time, especially if we're taking on a full load of nearly 100,000 gallons.  It continued well into the afternoon.

I mentioned that the vibe has changed in the title.  It has.  Why?  This morning, we went from 500+ passengers on the ship to just over 150.  

Most of the folks in this photo are now gone

That situation will remain today and tomorrow, but Wednesday morning, most of that 150 will also depart, leaving just 38 of us from the World Cruise on the ship.  Then, somewhere around 700 new passengers will embark making this much more crowded than we've been used to for the last 137 days.

Another thing that's changed the vibe is the closing of the World Cafe at 8:30AM today.  It will remain closed today, and I suspect tomorrow.  Why?  Here's a look at the port side.

All the carpet on the port side has been removed and the new carpet is already being put down.  We're very excited that we will be among the first that will get to spill on the new carpet. ;-)

England is an interesting place.  Perhaps it is because as a country, it is much older than the US that we find some, let's call them, peculiarities.  I was looking at the map of where we are today.

There we are, docked in Tilbury.  As you can see, we barely fit in the Thames. :-)  If you look at Tilbury, you can see that it seems to have a couple of outer areas call West Tilbury and East Tilbury.  Of course, East Tilbury is nearly due east of Tilbury.  That makes perfect sense.  But...West Tilbury, well that's another story.  West Tilbury, while west of East Tilbury, is actually north and east of Tilbury itself.  Maybe the urban planners drafted the plan after a few too many pints.  Or possibly, the discussion revolved around putting West Tilbury to the east of Tilbury to confuse the Yanks when they come to visit - it will be hilarious!  

About 4:15PM, Cruise Director Kate came on the PA and said that there will be a cocktail gathering in the Explorers' Bar for the sail away from Tilbury today.  Not being ones to avoid a party, we headed up and enjoyed a couple of hours of spirited conversation and spirited beverages while enjoying those panoramic views out the sweeping front windows.

During the soiree, Kate explained the changes for tomorrow's dining.  With the World Cafe closed for revamping, Viking will be preparing breakfast in Manfedi's tomorrow morning.  Kate encouraged everyone to come and enjoy breakfast together.  Dinner will be served in The Restaurant, but it will be served family-style.  Each large table will have a senior officer at it.  We will all gather and dine as a Viking family.  It is things like this that certainly sets Viking apart as a company.  They really do seem to view both crew and passengers as family.

We set sail for the North Sea and Bergen, Norway.  Tomorrow, we will be at sea and will arrive in Bergen, Norway on Wednesday.  We have had such amazing weather on this cruise, I've been waiting for the other shoe to fall, so to speak.  I think it is falling and will hit on Wednesday. Here are the forecasts for Bergen (5/11-5/12), Eidfjord (5/13), and Stavanger (5/14), Norway.

Here's hoping that some of that Viking World Cruise weather magic follows us along and the weather clears and warms a bit.