Ocean Princess Cabin 4006
Embarkation
Dover Terminal
We headed to the Dover Terminal after having toured the Dover Castle, definitely worth the effort. The last time that we visited Dover as a port of call on the Crown Princess, we hiked up the White Cliffs and out to the lighthouse. This time we wanted something different. The views from the castle are spectacular and we could see our ship in the distance.
Dover Cruise Port
The actual boarding process went smoothly. The past passenger line was longer than the regular line, but moved quickly enough, although we would have been checked-in sooner if we had gone to the general boarding line.
To the ship in Dover
We had booked an inside guarantee and didn’t have a cabin assignment prior to boarding. It was a nice surprise to have been assigned cabin 4006, an ocean view stateroom. We found the cabin comfortable with plenty of storage space and in a good location. We did have trouble with the air conditioning and although maintenance promptly looked at it, we never did get our room cool enough for our tastes.
Ocean Princess Cabin 4006
The beds have just a duvet as a covering, which we found to be far too hot especially considering that we couldn’t cool our room adequately. We simply requested a top sheet to help with the situation and our excellent attendant provided one from then on.
As much as we appreciated our upgrade, there was one reason to curse it: the light. Being far north, we didn’t ever experience total darkness. That made sleeping difficult for us. Yes, we could have worn eye shades, but we don’t find them especially comfortable and forgot to pack them. Instead, we came up with some interesting ways, mostly involving cushions from the sofa and towels to block out the light. It would be nice if ships had a drape system that could block out all light, especially on itineraries that travel to destinations with extended daylight.
We liked the fact that we could turn to a specific television station to hear the announcements in our room. That is so much simpler than having to run and open the door to hear what is being said. It seems that announcements often come right after stepping out of the shower or in the middle of getting dressed when it isn’t convenient to hear them.
Next time: dining.
Sail Away