I've spent hundreds of nights on cruise ships, and boarding a Royal Caribbean ship in a seasonal market like Southampton, England is easier than a lot of full time cruise ports in the United States.
Getting on any cruise ship isn't difficult, but some homeports are more difficult than others.
As someone that cruises every month, I've seen just about every embarkation day experience imaginable, and I was pleasantly surprised how easy the process was in Southampton.
I flew to London from my home in Orlando, Florida for a 7-night cruise on Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas that will take me to ports in Northern France and Spain.
I spent two days in London before taking the train down to Southampton. The train is easy and affordable. It was about €50 for a first class ticket if purchased in advance, and it's just a one hour and 20 minute ride from London's Waterloo station to Southampton Central.
The train is very efficient and fast. England's roads are notorious for traffic delays, and the train is a great alternative.
One downside to taking the train is the lack of space for luggage. Regular size luggage that you would check on an airplane do not fit in the overhead bins, and the only recourse was for everyone to shove their luggage in the boarding area between the doors. If I was taking my family, I'd probably have to opt for a car service because of how much luggage we typically have.
Once I arrived at Southampton, it was a short 5 minute taxi ride to where Anthem of the Seas was docked.
While boarding was delayed, the process went very smoothly once it got started.
At first, I was surprised there was no special line for suite guests and Pinnacle Club members. But it really did not matter, as they efficiently moved guests through security and check-in. The claim that Brits love to queue definitely seems to be true!
What made the process smooth was there were multiple points for the staff to check guests in, both before and after security. Even though no one was verifying anyone's check-in time, the crowd wasn't large enough to overwhelm the staff.
It took me probably 10 minutes at the most to get from curb to ship, and most of that was because I seem to always pick the longest security line, every time.
To Royal Caribbean's credit, once onboard the ship, the embarkation day experience was quite consistent. Muster stations were open to quickly take care of the emuster check-in, and then it was off to lunch.
I opted to lunch at the Windjammer buffet, primarily because I wanted to enjoy my food outdoors. On most Quantum Class ships, there is outdoor seating at the rear of the Windjammer, and I loved the pleasant temperatures and cool breeze. The high temperature was in the upper 60s and it was partly sunny. That's like summer weather in England.
While the check-in process was super smooth, the one area that baffled me was when staterooms would be ready. Unfortunately, cabins were not ready until 2:30pm. Usually cabins are ready by 1pm, or 2pm at the very latest.
I'm guessing Anthem was delayed in getting into port and that backed everything up. Luckily, it did not impact the check-in process too much, but cabin attendants needed more time.
I actually went down to check if the rooms were ready at 1:30, 2, and then finally 2:30. It took to exactly 2:30 for the cabins to be open to guests.
For this cruise, I booked a standard balcony cabin on deck 7. It's pretty much like any balcony cabin I've stayed in on other ships, and I especially like how much storage space and extra outlets Quantum Class cabins have. Back in 2015 when Anthem launched, this was a really big deal. Now, we all expect it.
One difference you'll notice in this cabin is the electric kettle. On cruises from the United Kingdom, all cabins have an electric kettle in the cabin by default so passengers can make their own tea.
A quick power nap later and we were off to begin out journey.
On this itinerary, we'll visit four ports of call: La Rochelle, France; Bilbao, Spain; La Coruna, Spain; Le Havre (Paris), France.
I wasn't sure where I wanted to eat dinner tonight, and decided to take the easy option and go to the Windjammer. If I'm being honest, I looked at the Main Dining Room menu and saw no French Onion Soup, so I skipped it.
The Asian stir fry station in the Windjammer alone made it the right choice.
After dinner, it was time to head to the casino for some luck.
Since I've already attained Prime status in the Casino Royale program, I'm not chasing points on this cruise and decided to play craps.
Table games, such as craps, are fun, but don't pay out points as well as slot machines do.
I ended up playing with the same money I started with for about two hours, and ended up doubling my money. Not a bad start to my cruise!
Tomorrow is a sea day as we head south.
