It is Monday Morning, my fourth wakeup on board, and it appears that 430 is my body’s natural wakeup time whilst aboard. 

I tend to be ready to sleep by 1130 and every morning, like clockwork, I am wide awake at 430 am. It doesn’t matter if the curtain is open or drawn, or whether I slept soundly or tossed and turned,  I wake promptly the same time.

I stare out at the sky and get up and wash my face, brush my teeth and hair, and do my toileting. I stand on the balcony for a few and enjoy the cool air, and lie back in the bed and just enjoy the solitude of the hushed breath of a 12 yr old sleeping soundly a few feet away. Maybe flip the tv on and switch it to 45 to see the current weather conditions….but it always goes right back off, there will be time for noise when E is awake, and trust me when I say that once she is awake, my entire day fills with noise.

Everyone we talked to slept a good portion of the day yesterday, including us. We had breakfast and I put the privacy sign out and went to sleep while she was playing on her Xbox, and when I awoke, she was sound asleep as well. Everyone at our table told similar tales of 2 to 3 hour naps, and so did the 2 friends I’ve made onboard prior to the  sail, Pixie and Wendy.

We managed to get to the Golden Lion pub yesterday for lunch. It was pleasant and the food was some of the best I’ve had on the cruise so far…and I’ve enjoyed the bulk of the food we’ve had, so that’s saying something.

Emma got a lovely baked Cumberland sausage with an onion gravy, set in a bed of bubble and squeak (cabbage and mashed potatoes)  I got fish and chips…the chops there were a far lovelier cut of potato than the fries served elsewhere on board, I loved them. 

We attempted to go swimming twice yesterday, but didn’t manage to quite make it. E did not wish to go the first time due to a live band playing in the area, said it was too loud for her taste. We attempted again after dinner, and there was a group of maybe 7-8 very unruly kids, with no parent seeming to take notice, so she chose again not to swim.

At 7 today our morning starts, we have breakfast brought to the room in the morning, it is our nightly routine to fill the card out together. I will start a load of laundry somewhere around 730, and it will be done by 9. We may try again to swim while it is in the dryer. 

May try the pub again for lunch, and we’ve arranged to meet for afternoon tea with the 2 girls mentioned before at 330. It’s another non-formal night for dinner, and  past that, it’s anyone’s guess what E will want to do today. 

I’m hoping tomorrow morning to make use of my early morning and see if she wants to get up with me to walk the ship for an hour or so to get photos, prior to the public areas being so crowded. 

Looking forward to London!