Pirate
07-06-2011, 02:36 PM
Posted on previous site
Artemis – Round Britain P914 5th July 2009 – 16th July 2009
I’ll admit to some preconceptions about Artemis, that she was ‘too small’, the passengers would be ‘really old’, and the ship would be showing signs of wear due to her age. Would my preconceptions be proved wrong? There was only one way to find out and on Sunday 5th July we drove down to Southampton for our first Artemis cruise.
Check –in
We had a trouble free drive down to Southampton and arrived at the Ocean Terminal just after noon. We had used the Ocean Terminal in May for our Arcadia weekender, and it had been chaotic at that time, but this time it was a breeze to check in. We were handed Green Card ‘C’ and after a short wait were called forward to check-in. By 12.30 we were in the Conservatory, getting lunch, so we were very pleased.
The Cabin.
We were in B238, on port side, slightly forward of midships. This cabin was perfectly adequate for our needs. I thought the hanging space in the wardrobe was excellent, although there could have been more drawers or shelving, but for 11 days it was no problem. I was hoping for one of the newer thicker mattresses on the bed, but no such luck. But I slept well, so the bed was comfortable enough for me. The bathroom was a good size, with a bath, not just a shower like on some of the other ships. The room safe was tiny and it had a key, instead of a code number to remember. We didn’t have a balcony this time, but we used what we called our ‘private viewing platform’ for sail-ins. This is the open deck forward of deck B. Only a few people seemed aware of this open deck, so we had some great views. I would imagine this would be a great place to view Norwegian fjords. My only problem with the cabin was that it was situated opposite a crew stairway, so we did get some noise first thing in the morning from trolleys being wheeled around. But on the other hand, I would probably have overslept, so there was an advantage!
The Ship.
Instead of thinking small, I kept calling Artemis ‘cute’ or ‘bijou’. Everything you need is there; it’s just on a more petite scale. Instead of a theatre, there was a lounge for the main evening entertainment. You had to get there quickly to get a decent seat, as it filled up very quickly after dinner, and there were some pillars that would block your view if you weren’t careful. A particular area I liked was Tiffanys. It was a great place during the day or evening for a drink and some people watching, especially if you got a seat overlooking the atrium. I wasn’t keen on the Horizon Lounge. The first evening we went up to check it out, and there was a most unusual smell. To be honest, it smelt as if someone had vomited, so we didn’t stop. The next evening it was the same, so we didn’t go again. It was a shame, and I don’t know what caused the smell. Our table mates at dinner said the same, so it wasn’t just us! I had read a lot about the ‘Artemis Vibration’. I suppose there was a slight vibration, but after a few days I didn’t notice it at all.
Fellow Passengers.
Well, they were shall we say mature! I’m 49, and from my observations I would say there were around 10 people younger than me, then a few couples in their 50’s, my husband who is 57, then everyone else was over 60, with the majority of them being over 70. There were only 36 new cruisers on board, with every one else being P & O veterans. The ship was very quiet in the evening, the quietest I’ve ever known. Formal nights well observed – I only saw one man without a bow tie, and on semi-formal nights I only saw two men not wearing a tie. Most people seemed to enjoy themselves, but there was a bit of moaning, mostly about the ports (I’ll cover that later). The most bizarre moan that I heard was that ‘ there were too many children at the Eden Project’! (I swear you couldn’t make it up!)
Food
Top marks for food in the Coral Restaurant and also up in the Conservatory. Incidentally, the Conservatory has been the first P & O buffet area where I haven’t felt in a rugby scrum to get at the food. The Conservatory was generally quiet and there was no problem in finding a table. I have a feeling the more elderly passengers preferred the Coral Dining Room, so there was a lot of space for the rest of us. I did miss the choice of alternative dining, but tried The Grill at the Conservatory one night and of course the Indian Dinner which was great.
Entertainment.
The Headliners were fantastic, but there were only two boys in the troupe. Note to P & O, more male eye candy needed please! The cabaret acts were variable. There was Bruce Morrison, who is also a director of Headliners. I enjoyed his shows, but he was somewhat over used, he must have done at least 5 shows. There was also the obligatory female singer whose name escapes me, and the comedian was Peter Goodwright. Not one of my favourite performers, but he is actually quite nice to talk to, as I discovered after he (rather disturbingly) mistook me for his wife!! This was also a Heritage Theme cruise, with speakers of a historical nature. A special mention for Gerald Dickens, who is the great great grandson of Charles. Gerald did some readings of Dickens’ work, including the Murder of Nancy from Oliver Twist and the whole of Nicholas Nickelby (in 45 minutes). As I’m a book lover I particularly enjoyed this.
The Ports
This was a port-intensive cruise, with 9 ports on an 11 day cruise. It was the ports that caused the most moaning on board ship. We were due to dock at Leith for Edinburgh, but there was ‘port congestion’ (A HAL ship had our berth) so we had to go to Rosyth. No offence to anyone from Rosyth, but it’s not the best introduction to Scotland. On the plus side, we did have to go under the Forth Bridges, so that was quite exciting. Only 2.8 metres clearance under the rail bridge. I think it is fairly safe to say Ventura will never dock at Rosyth! We had to miss Kirkwall in the Orkneys, as there were high winds. It was clear from the BBC weather forecast that the high winds were restricted to the North East of Scotland, so as soon as we had sailed beyond that area it was actually quite calm, so everyone started moaning that the Captain should have gone to Kirkwall! The other missed port was Guernsey. We had sailed in to Falmouth on the morning of 14th July and had berthed alongside. It was a fascinating sail in, as we literally had to turn left at 90 degrees to get into our berth. Therefore to get out we had to reverse out into the busy harbour with only 30 metres clearance each side. Trouble is, the wind got up during the day, so the harbourmaster wouldn’t let us go in the evening, as it would have been too dangerous. We therefore had to sail on the morning tide at 10.30am on Wednesday 15th July in a stiff breeze. Clearly, it wasn’t reasonable to go to Guernsey, anchor for a couple of hours (and it would probably have been too windy for tendering), so we had a slow sail up the Channel in glorious sunshine. But people were moaning about the whole thing!
To be honest I was disappointed to miss the ports, but these things happen and the extra sea days were welcome. It was great to see more of this country and I’m in love with Ireland. Also, who would have thought that Greenock would have been the warmest, sunniest port on our itinerary.
Summary.
Well, some of the preconceptions were smashed, but the one about the age of the passengers held true on this particular cruise! Not that it mattered to us, we had some great chats with people, and whatever your age you tend to find common ground. I did miss some of the large ship choices of bars and alternative dining, but for a cruise on a friendly ship with ports that are slightly out of the usual the Artemis scores highly. I had a great time and if the itinerary was right I would definitely sail on her again.
Artemis – Round Britain P914 5th July 2009 – 16th July 2009
I’ll admit to some preconceptions about Artemis, that she was ‘too small’, the passengers would be ‘really old’, and the ship would be showing signs of wear due to her age. Would my preconceptions be proved wrong? There was only one way to find out and on Sunday 5th July we drove down to Southampton for our first Artemis cruise.
Check –in
We had a trouble free drive down to Southampton and arrived at the Ocean Terminal just after noon. We had used the Ocean Terminal in May for our Arcadia weekender, and it had been chaotic at that time, but this time it was a breeze to check in. We were handed Green Card ‘C’ and after a short wait were called forward to check-in. By 12.30 we were in the Conservatory, getting lunch, so we were very pleased.
The Cabin.
We were in B238, on port side, slightly forward of midships. This cabin was perfectly adequate for our needs. I thought the hanging space in the wardrobe was excellent, although there could have been more drawers or shelving, but for 11 days it was no problem. I was hoping for one of the newer thicker mattresses on the bed, but no such luck. But I slept well, so the bed was comfortable enough for me. The bathroom was a good size, with a bath, not just a shower like on some of the other ships. The room safe was tiny and it had a key, instead of a code number to remember. We didn’t have a balcony this time, but we used what we called our ‘private viewing platform’ for sail-ins. This is the open deck forward of deck B. Only a few people seemed aware of this open deck, so we had some great views. I would imagine this would be a great place to view Norwegian fjords. My only problem with the cabin was that it was situated opposite a crew stairway, so we did get some noise first thing in the morning from trolleys being wheeled around. But on the other hand, I would probably have overslept, so there was an advantage!
The Ship.
Instead of thinking small, I kept calling Artemis ‘cute’ or ‘bijou’. Everything you need is there; it’s just on a more petite scale. Instead of a theatre, there was a lounge for the main evening entertainment. You had to get there quickly to get a decent seat, as it filled up very quickly after dinner, and there were some pillars that would block your view if you weren’t careful. A particular area I liked was Tiffanys. It was a great place during the day or evening for a drink and some people watching, especially if you got a seat overlooking the atrium. I wasn’t keen on the Horizon Lounge. The first evening we went up to check it out, and there was a most unusual smell. To be honest, it smelt as if someone had vomited, so we didn’t stop. The next evening it was the same, so we didn’t go again. It was a shame, and I don’t know what caused the smell. Our table mates at dinner said the same, so it wasn’t just us! I had read a lot about the ‘Artemis Vibration’. I suppose there was a slight vibration, but after a few days I didn’t notice it at all.
Fellow Passengers.
Well, they were shall we say mature! I’m 49, and from my observations I would say there were around 10 people younger than me, then a few couples in their 50’s, my husband who is 57, then everyone else was over 60, with the majority of them being over 70. There were only 36 new cruisers on board, with every one else being P & O veterans. The ship was very quiet in the evening, the quietest I’ve ever known. Formal nights well observed – I only saw one man without a bow tie, and on semi-formal nights I only saw two men not wearing a tie. Most people seemed to enjoy themselves, but there was a bit of moaning, mostly about the ports (I’ll cover that later). The most bizarre moan that I heard was that ‘ there were too many children at the Eden Project’! (I swear you couldn’t make it up!)
Food
Top marks for food in the Coral Restaurant and also up in the Conservatory. Incidentally, the Conservatory has been the first P & O buffet area where I haven’t felt in a rugby scrum to get at the food. The Conservatory was generally quiet and there was no problem in finding a table. I have a feeling the more elderly passengers preferred the Coral Dining Room, so there was a lot of space for the rest of us. I did miss the choice of alternative dining, but tried The Grill at the Conservatory one night and of course the Indian Dinner which was great.
Entertainment.
The Headliners were fantastic, but there were only two boys in the troupe. Note to P & O, more male eye candy needed please! The cabaret acts were variable. There was Bruce Morrison, who is also a director of Headliners. I enjoyed his shows, but he was somewhat over used, he must have done at least 5 shows. There was also the obligatory female singer whose name escapes me, and the comedian was Peter Goodwright. Not one of my favourite performers, but he is actually quite nice to talk to, as I discovered after he (rather disturbingly) mistook me for his wife!! This was also a Heritage Theme cruise, with speakers of a historical nature. A special mention for Gerald Dickens, who is the great great grandson of Charles. Gerald did some readings of Dickens’ work, including the Murder of Nancy from Oliver Twist and the whole of Nicholas Nickelby (in 45 minutes). As I’m a book lover I particularly enjoyed this.
The Ports
This was a port-intensive cruise, with 9 ports on an 11 day cruise. It was the ports that caused the most moaning on board ship. We were due to dock at Leith for Edinburgh, but there was ‘port congestion’ (A HAL ship had our berth) so we had to go to Rosyth. No offence to anyone from Rosyth, but it’s not the best introduction to Scotland. On the plus side, we did have to go under the Forth Bridges, so that was quite exciting. Only 2.8 metres clearance under the rail bridge. I think it is fairly safe to say Ventura will never dock at Rosyth! We had to miss Kirkwall in the Orkneys, as there were high winds. It was clear from the BBC weather forecast that the high winds were restricted to the North East of Scotland, so as soon as we had sailed beyond that area it was actually quite calm, so everyone started moaning that the Captain should have gone to Kirkwall! The other missed port was Guernsey. We had sailed in to Falmouth on the morning of 14th July and had berthed alongside. It was a fascinating sail in, as we literally had to turn left at 90 degrees to get into our berth. Therefore to get out we had to reverse out into the busy harbour with only 30 metres clearance each side. Trouble is, the wind got up during the day, so the harbourmaster wouldn’t let us go in the evening, as it would have been too dangerous. We therefore had to sail on the morning tide at 10.30am on Wednesday 15th July in a stiff breeze. Clearly, it wasn’t reasonable to go to Guernsey, anchor for a couple of hours (and it would probably have been too windy for tendering), so we had a slow sail up the Channel in glorious sunshine. But people were moaning about the whole thing!
To be honest I was disappointed to miss the ports, but these things happen and the extra sea days were welcome. It was great to see more of this country and I’m in love with Ireland. Also, who would have thought that Greenock would have been the warmest, sunniest port on our itinerary.
Summary.
Well, some of the preconceptions were smashed, but the one about the age of the passengers held true on this particular cruise! Not that it mattered to us, we had some great chats with people, and whatever your age you tend to find common ground. I did miss some of the large ship choices of bars and alternative dining, but for a cruise on a friendly ship with ports that are slightly out of the usual the Artemis scores highly. I had a great time and if the itinerary was right I would definitely sail on her again.