Love Boat to Belfast Day 7 - Hometime and Final Thoughts

[Melanie R]

I woke early to the sound of my alarm this morning – a reminder that today I was heading home 😞

I had a disembarkation time of 9:10 but in a change of procedure to Royal Caribbean, we had to leave our cabins by 8:30 and head to a public area.

As a platinum member I was entitled to access a priority lounge, but in the end I opted to head to the International Café and pick up a coffee while I waited. I was pleasantly surprised to see it wasn’t too busy, and the waitress was very quick to take my order and bring my coffee which I was happy to have – I really needed the caffeine hit after my late night!
I had opted to skip breakfast as I was up early and don’t enjoy eating until I’ve had time to wake up a little, so had decided I would pick up something later at the station.

As I was drinking my coffee, the lady sat on the next table commented on my WDW rucksack – she and her husband were huge Disney fans and had previously owned a home in Florida, so we bonded nicely for the next half hour over Disney stories before it was time for us to disembark – I love how Disney can bring together people in the most unlikely situations!

I headed off the ship and made my way to a waiting taxi and was very quickly at the station – I had over an hour before my train was due, so headed into the café to order a coffee and pastry for breakfast as I was now feeling peckish.

They were both lovely and the time passed quickly before it was time to head over the bridge to the platform to catch my train.
I headed to the lift to realise that is was blocked off and out of service! I had too much luggage to manage up the stairs so headed over to a station worker and he called someone to carry my case up the stairs for me – great service!

The lift on the other side was working, so I headed down to the platform and within 5 minutes was boarding the first of my 3 trains which would take me home!

It was a very uneventful journey, and I passed the time reading, listening to music and messaging friends and Andy and before too long I was arriving at Lancaster where my dad was waiting to collect me! It had been a fantastic break and I had loved every minute of it – can’t wait do do it all over again in less than 3 weeks back on Anthem of the Seas 🥰

Final thoughts

I have really enjoyed the concept of short breaks in the UK this year, and having 3 cruises within a 10 week period had been great to counter any post-holiday blues!

It was very difficult on this cruise not to make comparisons between Princess and Royal Caribbean, and if I’m totally honest I would have to say that Royal Caribbean just has the edge for me – but that is purely personal choice and in no way reflects badly on Princess – it had been a lovely ship and the service had been fabulous, but the layout and ambiance on Royal is more to my personal taste 😊

Next steps – well as you will have gathered, I had a fantastic first date with Andy, we really hit it off and have been in daily contact since the day we first matched back on-board my first cruise! On my return I spent 90 minutes on the phone to Royal Caribbean and have added him to my booking for the next cruise on Anthem of the Seas – I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to spending some quality time together and hope that it will be the beginning of something special ❤️

[vanlou]

Thankyou for sharing (again!). Can’t wait to read about the next one

[Melanie R]

Originally Posted by vanlou

Thankyou for sharing (again!). Can’t wait to read about the next one

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Thank you - can’t wait to go on the next one 😂

[JudyC]

Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed reading.

[kc1]

Aww this is so sweet! Have really enjoyed your trip reports and can’t wait for your next one! Plus I’m looking forward to hearing about the anthem of the seas!

[Melanie R]

Originally Posted by JudyC

Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed reading.

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Thank you 😊

Originally Posted by kc1

Aww this is so sweet! Have really enjoyed your trip reports and can’t wait for your next one! Plus I’m looking forward to hearing about the anthem of the seas!

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Thank you - I’m looking forward to getting back onboard - it seems ages since I was on it but it’s only been just over a month!

[kc1]

Holy moly I missed one 😂 the anthem of the seas I’m off for a read 🤣

[P&S]

Thank you for writing this up I feel like I've been on a journey with you So excited for your next one

[Cutiepie]

Another fab cruise Reading about your adventures has really made me think that I could cruise alone if I ever needed too. So thank you

I’m really looking forward to the next report to see what happens!😍🥰 have a fab time😊

[Hels80]

Ahh wow looking forward to hearing about the next cruise! So happy for you! X