As I sit here, deep in the bowels of the Royal Princess (ok, not that deep – on the 5th floor in the atrium/tea room area having a pot of Earl Grey tea with my hubby) I can look outside and see the driving rain … and we're in port, so that is doubly sad.
This trip has been plagued with rain and much, MUCH cooler temperatures than we've ever experienced in August trips in the past. We're prepared … sort of. But only one pair of the shorts we've brought has been worn (except for the exercise ones) and our raincoats have had steady use.
Sigh.
One of the days we were in London, we actually cut our touring short because the driving rain just made things so unpleasant.
“You were in England,” you say. “You have to expect that. Everyone knows it rains all the time in England.”
Maybe so. But that hasn't been our experience.
In any case, we were equipped with three umbrellas and four raincoats. We just never had them with us when we needed them. In fact, the reason we have THREE umbrellas is because we didn't have our two with us when we needed them.
Yesterday, we sheltered in a Costa Coffee in Guernsey when it rained and then enjoyed a sunnier walk back to the pier. Nevertheless, it was cold, and, later in the evening when we saw Princess coats on sale for $19 (yes, you read that right), I snapped one up. You'll be seeing it someday in the States, because it's really warm and comfy!
And, I hope, waterproof.
This morning our breakfast bacon (we are big fans of Princess Cruises bacon, both American and English) was accompanied by sheets of wind-blown rain hitting the windows next to us. Not a day to leave the ship if we don't have to. So … off to the bowels for a pot of tea, in hopes the rain goes away. So far, no luck.
Fortunately, there's tons to do on a ship even when the expectation is that most of the people will be in port. There are classes, lectures, exercise opportunities, films, trivia, games, and, of course, the food. I imagine people eat much more on days like today. We love sea days, and a port day in which you don't want to go outside to the port is much like a sea day. I know people say that they worry they'll be bored being on a ship, but so far that hasn't happened to us.
Off to lunch soon. And then maybe we'll have a nap. So far, Ireland has been ... well, rainy and restful.