WE ARE AT SOUTHAMPTON, UK

Yesterday was probably my most difficult day on this trip.  Nothing went truly wrong, but very few things went well.  A stressful and physically trying series of experiences, from Piraeus, Greece to Heathrow Airport in England, then a bus ride to Southampton, ending with a long, wet, bumpy, dangerous walk to our hotel, the Moxy.

So to begin, goodbye Regent Seven Seas Voyager in Piraeus.

My Blue-bar pigeon said have nice flight.

Nice buildings along the way.  But traffic was slow, very much so.

A street scene.

It was an excruciatingly long ride.  We were supposed to leave the ship at 8:35AM, but delays made this departure time closer to 10AM.  We did not get to the airport until after 11:30, and by the time got to the Aegean Air lounge, it was only half an hour to boarding.  That's why my posting was so late yesterday.  There was no time to get connected.  We had almost nothing in the lounge.

Our Aegean Air plane.

Salad, etc., with John Walker.

Added Ouzo with the chicken.

Then the big decision.  How to get from Heathrow to Southampton, a distance of 62 miles.  If you decided to spend a night or two in London first, you need to get there, which is 16 miles away.  Then to catch the Queen Mary II, you would need to travel 80 miles to Southampton.

So we decided to go directly to Southampton.  Big dilemma.  Cost and difficulty.

• A taxi can cost $180, but only if booked ahead of time.  Catching a cab from the airport could exceed $200.
• A train is out of the question because of baggage.
• So it seemed obvious to take the bus, for this would only cost $25/person.  That is my seat to the left.  I had an exciting view of the ride.  Note the TV screen, which showed passengers.

• Turns out that we probably paid more like $35/person because of the extra baggages, plus a handling fee because we did not buy the tickets at the bus station.
• My advice, if you decide to try the bus, do not buy your ticket after you just leave the baggage area.  Find your way to the bus station and get the ticket there.   A small bit of a pain, for you need to catch a couple of elevators.  Also, if you do not land in terminals 2 or 3, you need to first catch a free train, with all your baggage, to terminal 2.
• Finally, the bus to Southampton has funny hours.  We landed at 3:30PM, and the next bus was at 5:50PM.  If we had missed that, it would have been at 8:30PM.  They say the bus ride can be more than two hour long, but with no stops, it should be closer to an hour because Southampton is only 62 miles away, and the highway system is excellent.
• Our ride was not so simple, for our bus was half an hour late, and the number we had, 203, was for Southampton, but the bus said 203 Portsmouth.  Luckily we asked around and were told, forget the name on your ticket.  The number is more important.  So this bus first had to stop by terminals 4, then terminal 5, to take on other passengers.  That alone took almost half an hour because the road was clogged.  Then on the way south, first stopped twice before getting to Southampton, each taking more time.
• All in all, it wasn't bad, but we got to our destination at 8:30PM so.
• 
  But that is where all got worse.
• We asked how do we catch a cab to the Moxy.  The general advice was taxis are hard to get, but luckily, your hotel is only a few minutes walk down that street.
• It was dark, cold and starting to rain.  We had no choice, so off we went rolling our heavy suitcases sort of uphill.  
• The roads are all curvy and you can't see cars speeding toward you, and they drive on the wrong side of the road here.
• Worse, there was no smooth walkway.  They were all cobblestone
• We also had no idea where our hotel really was.
• After around a quarter mile or so we finally asked a family if they happen to know where the Moxy hotel was.  They lived here, but the parents had no idea.  Thankfully, their 12-year old son said it is up that road toward the green light, which was several hundred yards further uphill.  Then they looked at their phone and pinpointed the spot.  Still a little worrisome, for the Moxy opened five years ago, and why did the elders not know.
• Off we rolled, with difficulty.  I'm not physically fit to be doing this.  We saw no taxi through the entire ordeal.
• 
  After we passed the green light, we looked around, and could not see anything that looked like the Moxy.  But we had no other choice and walked further, until we magically saw this pink sign, which looked more like it was for a restaurant.
• I would say we had walked half a mile in the drizzle, freezing.

• 
  My biggest lesson learned, although I had earlier come this conclusion anyway, was that ALWAYS take the expensive option of the cruise line picking you up at the airport, take you to their designated hotel, and the next day to the ship.  This doubles the cost, but it's all worth it.
• 
  The Moxy is a story in itself. 
• There is no staff to help you with luggage.
• You check in at the bar cashier.
• The large bar did also serve food, so we came down for dinner at 9:30PM, as the food part closed at 10PM.
• There must have been 20 people eating and drinking.
• Strange service.  They do not serve you.  You go the bar and order food and drinks, then pick them up there yourself to take to your table.  The staff there does nothing to help you, although they are cordial and helpful.
• We had whiskey, beer, Shanghai Noodles and pizza.  Drinks were not expensive at all, plus ours were free, and we have two more tomorrow night.
• At the end, you don't have to, but seem obligated to carry your tray back to a receptacle.
• We also will have a free breakfast, but only because when we checked in we played a game to spin a wheel, and got breakfast, for two mornings.
• The Moxy is a Marriott, but minimal.  
• Certainly no executive club.
• Sort of like the Fairfield we stayed at in Sapporo last year.
• The lobby is a bar.
• The rooms are small.
• There is no clothes closet.  The one in the Regent Voyager was half the size of our Moxy room. 
• The bed is a double.  All the beds we've had so far on this trip had king size beds.
• The Moxy allows pets.  In fact their ads suggest they sleep in your bed.
• When we checked ours, I saw cookie crumbs, so clearly, the sheets had not be changed from the previous guest, and who knows how many times.
• This will be our final Moxy, ever.
• However, I need to insist you click on this video for another point of view.  This shows almost exactly our room from another couple.  They loved their stay here.  And they are right.  The price to stay here is attractive.

Walked 8078 steps today, at least half from the bus station to our hotel.

The following morning I took this photo to show how close we are to the cruise port.

Breakfast was okay, about the same as all European hotels.  At least it was free.

Well, we have nothing to do today and will walk around our hotel.  Tomorrow we board the Queen Mary II to New York.

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