London (Southampton), United Kingdom
About This Stop
Our epic British Isles cruise adventure began with careful preparation and an emotional family transition. The day before our departure, we made our way to the Marriott hotel near the Atlanta airport to position ourselves for the early morning flight and to handle some important family business. This overnight stay served a dual purpose: getting Andrew ready for his upcoming mission departure the next day, and ensuring Tyler was all set to return home to Macon on his own using Groom transportation services.
After spending the night at the airport hotel, we faced the reality of an extremely early morning start. Our alarms went off around 3:30 to 4:00 AM, and we quickly gathered our luggage and made our way to the airport. We parked our car in the long-term parking facility and caught the shuttle directly to the terminal, beginning what would be a very long day of travel.
Our journey to England involved a complex routing through New York. We arrived at Atlanta's airport quite early and boarded our first flight to New York without any major issues. However, once we reached New York, we faced a grueling 6-hour layover that tested our patience and energy levels. The extended wait in the airport, combined with our early morning start, meant we were already feeling the effects of travel fatigue before we even left the United States.
Finally, we boarded our transatlantic flight from New York to London, settling in for the long journey across the Atlantic. The flight gave us time to rest and build anticipation for our upcoming cruise adventure, though we knew we still had significant ground transportation ahead of us once we landed.
Upon arriving in London, we faced the challenge of getting from the airport to Southampton, where our cruise ship was waiting. We decided to take an Uber for what turned out to be approximately a 2-hour journey. Unfortunately, this leg of our trip became one of the most unpleasant experiences of our entire travel day. Our Uber driver proved to be absolutely terrible, constantly accelerating and then immediately hitting the brakes in a jerky, stop-and-go pattern that was both nauseating and nerve-wracking. Given how exhausted we were from our early morning start and long day of travel, this brutal driving style made the final stretch to Southampton particularly miserable.
Despite the challenging journey to get there, we finally arrived at the port in Southampton and made our way directly to the cruise terminal. The port opened at 10:00 AM, and we were fortunate enough to be among the very first passengers in line, which meant we were also among the first to board the ship. This early boarding was a tremendous relief after our long travel ordeal.
Once we got on board and found our room, we discovered that our cabin was already ready for occupancy, which was perfect timing given our exhausted state. We immediately took advantage of this opportunity to crash and get some much-needed rest. We slept deeply until around 5:00 PM, which helped us recover from the early morning start and long day of travel.
After our restorative nap, we ventured out to explore our new floating home for the next month. We went to dinner to get our first taste of the ship's dining options and spent time familiarizing ourselves with the various facilities and amenities available on board. I even attended the evening show, which provided a nice introduction to the entertainment offerings. Despite the challenging travel day, it ended up being a good first day aboard the ship, and we felt ready to begin our British Isles adventure proper.
After spending the night at the airport hotel, we faced the reality of an extremely early morning start. Our alarms went off around 3:30 to 4:00 AM, and we quickly gathered our luggage and made our way to the airport. We parked our car in the long-term parking facility and caught the shuttle directly to the terminal, beginning what would be a very long day of travel.
Our journey to England involved a complex routing through New York. We arrived at Atlanta's airport quite early and boarded our first flight to New York without any major issues. However, once we reached New York, we faced a grueling 6-hour layover that tested our patience and energy levels. The extended wait in the airport, combined with our early morning start, meant we were already feeling the effects of travel fatigue before we even left the United States.
Finally, we boarded our transatlantic flight from New York to London, settling in for the long journey across the Atlantic. The flight gave us time to rest and build anticipation for our upcoming cruise adventure, though we knew we still had significant ground transportation ahead of us once we landed.
Upon arriving in London, we faced the challenge of getting from the airport to Southampton, where our cruise ship was waiting. We decided to take an Uber for what turned out to be approximately a 2-hour journey. Unfortunately, this leg of our trip became one of the most unpleasant experiences of our entire travel day. Our Uber driver proved to be absolutely terrible, constantly accelerating and then immediately hitting the brakes in a jerky, stop-and-go pattern that was both nauseating and nerve-wracking. Given how exhausted we were from our early morning start and long day of travel, this brutal driving style made the final stretch to Southampton particularly miserable.
Despite the challenging journey to get there, we finally arrived at the port in Southampton and made our way directly to the cruise terminal. The port opened at 10:00 AM, and we were fortunate enough to be among the very first passengers in line, which meant we were also among the first to board the ship. This early boarding was a tremendous relief after our long travel ordeal.
Once we got on board and found our room, we discovered that our cabin was already ready for occupancy, which was perfect timing given our exhausted state. We immediately took advantage of this opportunity to crash and get some much-needed rest. We slept deeply until around 5:00 PM, which helped us recover from the early morning start and long day of travel.
After our restorative nap, we ventured out to explore our new floating home for the next month. We went to dinner to get our first taste of the ship's dining options and spent time familiarizing ourselves with the various facilities and amenities available on board. I even attended the evening show, which provided a nice introduction to the entertainment offerings. Despite the challenging travel day, it ended up being a good first day aboard the ship, and we felt ready to begin our British Isles adventure proper.
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